Burning For Revenge - Mystery Skulls Animated
by SilverLining111
Summary: It's been five months since the gang lost Lewis. After a fight with a demon, Vivi doesn't really seem the same - Arthur has heard of memory loss before, but this isn't anything like anything he's ever seen. Vivi's mind is unravelling fast and with Lewis on a mission to decapitate Arthur, he and Mystery have to think fast and work together to prevent a tragedy. (Update cover soon!)
1. Chapter 1: Possessive Antics

_"No. I'm sorry but I've told you before — our work is dangerous. You're like a sister to me! What if something happened to you?"_

 _"I've told you before! I can handle myself, Vivi. Just let me come along, just this once! Please!"_

 _"No. You're not coming. You're too young — anything could happen to you! That's all I'm saying about it, okay? Now go home, please."_

 _I turn and storm away from my co-worker, feeling my cheeks burn. Why does she think I'm so helpless? I can look after myself! It's not like I'd steal her spell book and go ghost-hunting or—_

 _I stop in my tracks, face breaking into a grin. That's it! That's all I need to do. I'm sure Duet would have a few books lying around — I just need to prove I can do stuff by myself, right? Just summon a ghost and Vivi will_ have _to let me join the Mystery Skulls._

 _Ten minutes later I'm standing at the entrance to a cave, tome in hand. I raise a fist above my head and, reading from a crinkled page, shout the incantation at the top of my lungs. Storm clouds roll across the sky and a bolt of lightning strikes the ground right in front of me — I scream and jump backwards, dropping the book — and from the pages rises a tendril of green smoke, swirling and twisting into a hazy shape. Like a misshapen Cheshire Cat, a wide, gleaming grin comes into view first._

 _"I see you've come to make a deal," a voice says._

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 _I stumble away from the entrance to the cave, breathing ragged and heart hammering against my ribcage. This can't be happening. How could I have been so stupid?_

 _What have I done?_

 **THE BEFORE TIME:**

Arthur padded wearily behind Lewis, gripping his shoulders tightly. This place was creepy — it was cold and quiet and Arthur was getting goosebumps. Why had they come here? Vivi had said that the gang's Twitter page had gotten a request to check out this spooky place on the edge of town. Whispers around town said that people had broken down by this very cave in the middle of the night, each one wondering inside, lured by song. These tales were just to scare tourists, of course — but of course, the excitable bluenette had been desperate to check it out.

"This _reeks_ of supernatural," she had cried, buckling herself into the front seat. "We _have_ to go see what's going on — we might even see a real ghost!"

The gang had never actually seen a spirit before — they had only started up their paranormal investigations group, the Mystery Skulls, a few months before, after Vivi had suggested it might be a good idea. It would be an adventure, she had said.

As long as Arthur had known her since third grade, Vivi had been obsessed with the paranormal. Whenever they had play dates, Vivi would always cart over a bag of ghost stories or supernatural novels; and in sixth grade she did one better — when Arthur arrived at her house she presented him with all seven seasons of _Ghostbusters_. She had kept him awake all night with soda and lollies so he could watch it with her, and they were still there, swaddled in blankets in Vivi's living room, at six o'clock the next evening. As soon as Arthur got home he had collapsed onto his bed and slept for 19 hours.

In highschool, Arthur had met Lewis Pepper. The fifteen-year-old had been cowering in a locker after the school bullies had left him there, when the lock turned and he found himself staring into the surprised eyes of a burly boy with purple hair.

"Hey, are you alright?" The boy asked, holding out a hand to help Arthur out of the locker. "Who did this to you?"

"N-No one." Arthur stammered. "I . . . I fell in myself."

The boy gave him a strange look, but then he shrugged. "Okay, then. Hey, what class have you got next?"

"English, B3."

"Hey, I have that too! You wanna walk to class together?"

Arthur and Lewis had developed a strong friendship within a matter of days and the bullies moved on pretty quickly. Then Lewis had met Vivi, and, well . . . Let's just say they hit it off quite fast. Arthur had remained friends with both of them all through college — and with the pay Arthur was getting from his work at his Uncle Lance's shop, Kingsmen Mechanics, they had all cobbled together enough money to buy an apartment to share.

And now they were here, investigating a creepy old cave. Mystery seemed unnerved — his ears were pressed flat against his skull and he growled at every sound, but Lewis and Vivi walked on ahead, oblivious to the dog's irritated attitude.

Soon, a dim green glow lit the cave, and the gang found themselves facing a fork in the tunnel.

After looking around and measuring the circumstances, Vivi stepped forward. "Guys, I think we should split up to cover more ground. I'll go with Mystery — and Arthur, you can go with Lewis. If the tunnels don't come to a dead end, we all have an hour for exploring and then we can make our way back to meet here. Got it?"

Arthur and Lewis nodded, but Mystery stood stock still, listening. Vivi turned and ventured down the right path while the two best friends advanced towards the left. Mystery tailed them, all the while sniffing cautiously.

After a while, the tunnel gave out to an open ledge. Lewis shrugged free of his friend's hands and took a few steps, reaching the edge of the ledge and peering down. They were in a huge cavern — stalactites dripped from the ceiling and unnervingly sharp spikes jutted up from the floor, almost thirty metres down.

Behind him, Arthur glanced around nervously, hugging himself for warmth and comfort. This place didn't feel right. The darkness seemed to creep up on him from behind, and the air tasted bitter and smelled foreboding . . . Arthur shook his head. What was he now, a dog? How could he even tell what drifted on the breeze? He certainly couldn't smell death or blood or. . .

Something rattled, sending an echo bouncing around the tunnel, and Arthur jumped. What was that? Was it a ghost? The young man turned, scouring the black tunnel. Nothing that he could make out.

He sighed, kicking a stray stone irritably. Why was he such a wimp? It was just a cave — and caves were just stone. Stone worn down by wind and water. There was nothing to be afraid of here.

Arthur felt something cold and damp brush his leg, and he glanced down. Green mist was swirling around his knees, tendrils curling and weaving like vines around his amber jeans. As he gazed at the fog, something pricked at the back of his mind.

 _Arthur,_ it hissed. It was a voice.

 _Look at the way Lewis is standing on top of that cliff. It would take a very small poke to push him off the ledge. Then it would go back to being just you and Vivi. Like it always has been._

Arthur started. What was this thing in his mind? And why would he ever even _considering_ doing that?

 _Because you love Vivi, Arthur. You've always loved her — and then this big hulk waltzed in and stole her from right under your nose. You might just have a chance with her if you dispose of that nuisance._

Again, Arthur was shocked at the cruelty in those words. _Are those_ my _thoughts?_

 _Yes. These are your subconscious thoughts — what you really want. Come on, Arthur. Just one small push, and you'll have everything you ever wanted._

 _I have everything I want right here!_ Arthur fought, still trying to figure out what the strange voice was doing in his head. _I have my best friend, I have Vivi, I have Mystery. . ._

 _Come on, Arthur,_ the voice was stronger now, forcing its way to the forefront of Arthur's thoughts. _Come . . . On. . ._ Arthur's heart skipped a beat as he felt his arm go numb, then barely stifled a shriek as it started to go green. It felt as if it were rotting on his body! _Come,_ pushed the voice, growing louder and more insistent all the time.

Soon enough, Arthur lost all control of his left arm, and the green appendage hung limply at his side, before twitching and lifting up. _Push Lewis. . ._ The voice whispered, and Arthur felt tendrils winding across his chest, down to his left leg and up to his face. The whole left side of his body felt numb and foul now.

Arthur's green arm jerked forward, and his left leg moved of its own accord, forcing him along the ledge. Sweat broke out his forehead as he fought the invading spirit, but it just kept yanking him across the bleak stone until he was standing right behind his best friend. His green limb reached out and Arthur used his free right arm to grab it and hold it back, fighting to keep it in control.

"No," Arthur's whisper was hoarse. "Please, don't do this."

The voice in his mind chuckled darkly. _Don't do what? Don't_ help _you? Don't get you what you want? All you need to give is one little push. . ._

The possessed arm ripped out of Arthur's grip and flew out, making a beeline for Lewis' broad back.

"NO!" Arthur shrieked, making a grab for his arm—

Lewis spun around. "Arthur, are you oka—"

The green arm planted itself flat against Lewis' chest and gave a hard shove. Lewis wobbled but did not fall.

"Arthur, what the—"

"I HATE YOU!" The words exploded from Arthur's mouth. "YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"


	2. Chapter 2: Loss

"I HATE YOU!" The words exploded from Arthur's mouth. "YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"

Lewis' eyes widened. "Arth—"

"NO!" Arthur shouted. "PISS OFF! GET OUT OF MY BODY!"

"SHUT UP ARTHUR!" The spirit wearing Arthur's face roared. With one final lunge, Arthur's numb body impacted heavily with Lewis' and he went toppling over the ledge.

The spirit loosened its grip on Arthur for a second, relaxing that the job had been completed — giving Arthur just enough time to drop to his knees and fling his right arm over the ledge, even though he knew he would never have a chance of catching his best friend.

 _"LEWIS!"_ Arthur screamed. _"LEWIS, NO!"_

Tears streamed down his cheeks and the only thing Arthur could do was watch his best friend falling, falling. . .

Arthur closed his eyes abruptly, but that didn't stop the sound from reaching him. There was a slicing sound, a splat, a thump, and then a wail. A wail that would haunt Arthur's dreams for months. It sounded like Lewis had punctured a lung, and his voice had turned into a ghastly, bubbling wheeze.

Arthur turned away and gagged, but nothing came out. Stomach heaving, he crawled across the stone floor, trying to get away from the ledge. The spirit had other ideas.

Arthur's left hand slowly felt around the stone wall, finding a grip and hoisting Arthur's body up. He could feel the sick, green tendrils reaching further across his body, constricting his breathing and slowing his heart. Half of Arthur's mouth twisted up into an ugly, gleeful grin, and his tears just kept flowing. How could this have happened? How could he have killed his best friend?

"Now to finish the job." Arthur barely recognised the voice that left his mouth — it came grating up his throat and almost spat through his lips in a rasping snarl. His left leg lifted, readying to take the first step—

Something smashed Arthur against the wall and sunk its fangs into his green arm — it looked like a gigantic red-and-white fox with six tails and yellow eyeglasses. Before Arthur could take a breath, the creature gnashed down on the limb, tearing through flesh and crunching through bone until it was no longer connected and the fox threw the arm away. Green ectoplasm leaked from between the creature's jaws, but its fur was also matted with blood — Arthur's blood.

And that's when the pain hit him. It was like a thousand tiny knives stabbing at his skin, like the sun had settled onto his forearm. Blood gushed from what was left of Arthur's arm and he screamed in agony, dropping to his knees. He looked up to see Mystery standing in front of him — his teeth were stained red.

 _Mystery — no._ The burning pain swept across Arthur's torso and constricted his chest, leaving him choking and gasping for air. He dropped to the ground and thrashed as every fibre of his being seemed to scream in agony.

"Mys . . . Mystery," he rasped, tears of pain and grief blurring his vision, "Go get . . . help . . . Please."

The dog bounded off, leaving Arthur to close his eyes and let the darkness overcome him.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Arthur was being shaken and he didn't know why. Was it time to get up? Did he sleep in? He thought he heard his phone buzzing too — he reached out his arm lazily, feeling around for his phone, but nothing happened. He couldn't feel most of his arm, or his fingers. But he could feel sticky stuff all over him — and then reality came crashing back in.

Mystery was some sort of gigantic fox creature with immense power. Arthur had been possessed by a demon. His arm had been ripped off. And, worst of all, he had killed his best friend.

Arthur started to hyperventilate as the pain once again seeped in. How had he forgotten? He was never going to forgive himself for this, and neither was Vivi. Vivi, oh god. . .

"Arthur?"

Vivi?

"Arthur!"

Vivi! Vivi was there, and she was going to help him!

"Arthur! Please, we need to go! We need to get you to the hospital!"

Hospital. Right. Arthur cracked open his eyes, and slowly sat up, groaning. He tried to blink through the blinding headache and blurring tears. He reached up his hand to wipe them away—

Nope. No hand. He had to get up. He needed to get to the hospital — maybe they could reattach his arm. Where was that arm?

"Arthur! Come on!"

A hazy figure was waving something at him — what was that? Arthur squinted. A blue balloon? A ribbon? Oh. An arm.

Arthur grabbed Vivi's arm and hoisted himself upwards, weaving on his feet. He was really dizzy — maybe he should sit back down.

Something looped itself around his torso and under his arms — arm, keeping him steady. "Come on, Artie. We can do this. It's only a few steps to the van."

The van? Oh, yes, they had a van! Only a few steps. . .

With Vivi holding him up and Mystery dragging them along, it was a relatively quick stagger to the car before he was flopped onto the front seat and the vehicle started humming. The agony came back and hit hard.

Arthur whimpered in pain. How much blood had he lost? Was he going to die? And how much blood was on his hands? Haha, blood was on his hands.

"Mystery! Please, calm him down! It's only a few minutes to the hospital, but he's already hysterical and he's losing so much blood . . . Oh, dear. . ." The car stopped and Vivi took off her scarf and wrapped it around his bleeding stump — and only then was Arthur aware of the weight on his chest. He blinked up at the hazy figure, making out a white face, spiky hair, and yellow spectacles—

"M-Mystery?" Arthur moaned. The dog whined, huddling onto his chest and licking his face. "Th-thank you. You . . . You got help. Thank you, Mystery."

The next few hours were a blur. They arrived at the hospital and he was immediately shoved into a bed and rolled through white corridors and pushed through swinging doors. A doctor slid a needle into his wrist and he heard some of the things the white-robed people were saying . . . _Is he crying? No, he was, but now he's laughing. And now he's screaming . . . Katrina, get over here! Quick! The heart rate's going up. . ._

When Arthur finally woke up and was cleared to go home, he locked himself in his room for days and didn't come out to eat. He barely got any sleep, and the sleep he did get was plagued by the images of that night. By the time he pulled himself together and came out, smiling at Vivi and putting some bread in the toaster for them, he didn't really know much, but he knew that he was never going to be the same again. . . .

. . . . And he would forever regret and mourn the death of his best friend.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 **I think that if a ghost or demon possesses a person, they can only speak in their victim's voice. So, using that to his advantage, the demon that possessed Arthur screamed that he hated Lewis before pushing him off, so Lewis would come back as a ghost and think that Arthur actually hated him, blah blah blah. Half of Arthur's body was still green though.**  
 **Oh and with the hysteria thing, when Arthur thought about the blood on his hands, he started laughing, so . . . Yes. Sorry about the drama, haha**


	3. Chapter 3: But I'm Afraid

**THE TIME:**

Vivi drove the van along the road, tapping the steering wheel with her fingers and humming to herself. They rounded a corner and Arthur pressed himself against the seat, cowering.

"STOP!" He shrieked, breathing heavily.

Vivi slammed on the brakes, and everyone was jerked forward by the sharp motion. Vivi turned to her friend with concern in her eyes.

"A-Arthur? What's the matter?"

Sweat beaded on the man's forehead as he stared through the windscreen. "Please . . . Don't go any f-further." He whispered.

Vivi followed his gaze, with Mystery craning over her shoulder from the back to get a better look. "Arthur . . . It's just mist. There's nothing dangerous out there."

 _The green, creeping up his arm. The sound of Lewis wailing through a punctured lung. The agony as teeth ripped into his arm—_

Arthur yelped as he snapped out of the memories. "Please." He croaked. "Just . . . You'll have to leave me here, I'm sorry." Arthur took a breath, voice hitching. "I m-m-might get t-taken over ag-gain," he whispered.

Vivi was gazing at him quizzically, but Mystery shot him a worried look and licked Vivi's chin to distract her from her quarry, adding a low whine for good measure.

Despite Mystery's efforts, the bluenette scrutinised Arthur for a little longer, before sighing and unbuckling her seatbelt. She opened the driver's door and she and Mystery jumped out.

Before walking off, Vivi turned and looked through the window at Arthur. "You sure you don't want to come?" She asked gently.

"N-N-No. I'm not g-going."

Again, Arthur's blue-haired friend sighed. "Alright. Just don't go anywhere, okay? And if you're in trouble, use the walkie-talkie." Vivi pointed at a little black device sitting on the seat, before she turned and along with Mystery vanished into the fog.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Vivi walked along the road, the fog swirling in her wake. Mystery padded along beside her, ears perked up and a low growl rumbling in his throat.

"It seems like everyone's on edge tonight." Vivi sighed, reaching down to stroke the dog's head. "I just don't get it, Mystery. Arthur just seems to get more and more jumpy all the time, but he won't tell me what's wrong. I'm worried about him." She gave a half-hearted smile to her accomplice and moved her hand to rub behind his ears. "It's not like you would know though, buddy. And even if you did, you certainly wouldn't be able to tell me."

Mystery shook Vivi's hand from his head, gazing along the road in front of them intently. He gave a short, determined bark and kept going.

Vivi plodded along behind him, shoulders slumping. "I'm just scared something's gonna happen to him, I guess. Arthur's been my best friend all my life — I don't know what I would do if. . . ."

Vivi trailed off as she looked up to realise Mystery wasn't there anymore. Wrapping her arms around herself, she quickened her pace, hoping to catch up to her dog. As she walked, Vivi stared around at the bleak environment she could make out beyond the fog.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Arthur sat alone in the van, berating himself. _You're such a wimp,_ he thought to himself angrily. _It's just a little bit of fog! It's not like there's some demon-spirit hiding in there so it can possess you and. . ._ He shuddered at the memory. _There you go again. No, there's nothing there. And what if Vivi's in trouble? You won't be there to help her! Then again, Mystery can protect her, right? Well, what if she gets injured? Gahh, Arthur! Pull yourself together!_

Arthur was startled out of his thoughts by a sudden ear-piercing shriek. He jumped and strained at his seatbelt, fumbling to unclip it. _That was Vivi! See what I told you? Ugh, that makes no sense. . ._ Another scream sliced through the night. _Vivi!_

Finally Arthur struggled out of his restraints and fell out the open van door. He grunted as he hit the ground, but vaulted himself forward and caught his footing, pelting towards the mist. He was almost past the barrier when he pulled up short, hyperventilating as the cold water vapour brushed his face.

 _Come on, come on,_ Arthur panicked. _It's just mist — just . . . Mist. . ._ He took a quick step forwards but again shied back and out of the fog.

"Arghh!" Arthur gripped his hair, raking his fingers through it. "Come on, come ON! COME ON ARTHUR!" With one final breath, he sprinted off into the mist. "VIVI! HOLD ON!"

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Vivi wrapped her arms around herself and quickened her pace, hoping to catch up to her dog. As she walked, Vivi stared around at the bleak environment she could make out beyond the fog. There was a scrabbling sound ahead, and Vivi squinted into the blurry mist, trying to make out a certain white shape.

"Mystery?" She called, pulling her sweater sleeves down over her hands. "Mystery, you there?"

A sudden roar filled the silence, and Vivi clapped her covered hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. As soon as her ears stopped ringing, she let her hands drop to her sides and opened her eyes — and her jaw dropped.

Before her, a transparent, green monster stood (or was it "floated"?) blocking the road, grinning nastily down at Mystery, who was growling menacingly up at it. The monster took a swipe at her dog and Vivi shrieked, reaching out for Mystery. The dog dodged the monster's claw-like hands and grew before her eyes — his legs extended and his teeth grew long and sharp, and behind him his short tail grew long and bushy, now accompanied by other swishing, red-tipped ones.

Mystery's eyes glowed crimson and he leapt forward, gnashing his teeth. The monster swept him aside and Mystery landed hard, yelping. The monster's green eyes flashed as it set them on Vivi — prey. Opening its cavernous mouth, it beared down on her, and Vivi screamed, falling backwards. Just as the monster would have consumed her, a flying red-and-white flash zipped across its sightline and from its mouth launched a red blast at the green creature. With a burst of its own, the monster cleared Mystery's missile and sent him sprawling in the dirt, where he lay, unmoving.

The green spirit-like creature again turned its attention to Vivi, but she couldn't move. She was frozen to the spot. It lifted its claws, about to strike, when an orange flash darted in front of her.

Standing in front of Vivi, Arthur flung his prosthetic out in front of him, the metallic surface flashing in the yellowy glow of the spirit's eyes. Arthur pressed a small circle on the back of his robotic hand, waiting for it to rise into a bolt-like button before settling his right thumb and forefinger over it, ready to twist. The gun function was just a prototype, but these were desperate measures.

This time, the gigantic spirit opened its mouth, blasting a column of neon-green light towards him. Arthur knew he wouldn't be able to disperse this, so he stood his ground in front of Vivi, hoping that he was providing enough protection for her to remain relatively unhurt should they escape this.

A flash of pinkish-purple light blazed through the clearing and blinded Arthur for a second. He blinked, hoping that would clear his whited-out vision. The column of light that had been headed straight for him was gone, and Arthur exhaled in relief. He turned around to face Vivi, but she was sitting there on the ground, seemingly paralysed, staring unblinking at nothing. Well, at least she wouldn't be running around and getting herself into any more trouble for a while. Arthur could deal with her later, but for now he needed to take care of that spirit — or at least try and divert its attention.

But when Arthur turned his head, all he could see was a greenish glow receding into the distance — the spirit had fled. The mechanic's eyes were still half-blinded by the flash and he shook his head to clear it. Then he looked around for Mystery and Vivi.

His blue-haired friend was still sitting on the ground behind him, unmoving and eyes wide. How could he have brushed her off so easily? Arthur rushed over to her, crouching down in front of her and shaking her shoulders.

"Hey, Vivi? You okay?" He asked worriedly, searching her face. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

Vivi took a sharp breath. "That. . . ." She began, her mind still elsewhere.

"What? What is it?"

"That. . . ." Vivi's eyes came into focus, settling on Arthur. "That was AMAZING! We . . . We actually found a REAL ghost! Oh my gosh this is so exciting!"

Arthur was surprised, to say the least. "So . . . You're okay, then?"

"Okay? Okay?! This is amazing, Arthur! I feel great! You _did_ see that, right? Oh well, of course you did, you fought it off!" Vivi motor-mouthed. "And by the way, I can't believe it! What happened to scaredy-cat Arthur? You fought that thing right off — it just turned tail and fled! Now we really _are_ a paranormal investigating group! Could you teach me how to do that?"

"Do . . . Do what, exactly?"

"How to fight off ghosts, genius!" The bluenette was now waving her arms around in crazy gestures. "I mean, of course we have the things for small-scale hauntings and stuff, but WOW! Imagine if that happened again? We would need to be prepared! Every time _I've_ tried to deal with ghosts, they wouldn't even flinch. But with you, it ran right off! You have to teach me what you did!"

"I . . . I didn't do anything — th-there was this purple flash, a-and—"

Vivi cut Arthur off from his nervous stammering. "A purple flash? I didn't see a purple flash."

"Well, it was more a magenta colour, actually. . ."

The two heard a whine that broke them both from their mostly-one-sided conversation. They looked at each other in horror.

"Mystery!" Vivi yelled, scrambling to her feet. She stood still, scanning the area for a moment, before another whine and a flash of white through the fog alerted her. She bolted off in the direction of the animal, taking five strides before she was standing over her injured dog. Well, her injured . . . What was he? A fox? A fox with six tails. Vivi kneeled next to the fox and brushed her hand along his side gently.

"Mystery?" Her fingers touched his ribs and he gasped in pain. Vivi retracted her hand hurriedly and turned to Arthur, who was standing behind her. "Arthur! What can we do to help Mystery?"

"You . . . You don't have . . . to do anything."

The wheezy, constricted voice silenced the babbling blue-haired girl and she turned back to her giant fox in amazement. "What . . . what did you say?"

"You don't have to do anything," Mystery repeated, rolling over so he could face Vivi. "I am perfectly capable of healing myself, if you can give me enough time."

"How long will that take?" Vivi's voice was steady and she was putting on a calm face, but Arthur knew she was still in shock. Her left eyelid was twitching — that was a bad sign. It meant there was probably going to be a "little talk" later on.

"Maybe a couple of days to fully recuperate. It will take an hour at least to be healed sufficiently enough to go back to the van."

Arthur stepped forward and crouched next to Mystery, surveying the damage. There was a large gash up the beast's side, but even as he watched, Arthur could see it ever so slowly merging together. Apart from that, it seemed as though perhaps a rib was broken, a front leg was dislocated and blood jerked from Mystery's jaw. Arthur hoped that not too much damage had been sustained beneath the surface.

"Maybe you could shrink back to your dog form," Vivi said quietly, twisting her hands together in worry. "It would make your wounds smaller and it would take less time for them to heal."

"Clever Vivi," Mystery smiled, but then his mouth turned down at the corners. "I'm sorry for keeping his from you for so long. I didn't mean for you to find out this way."

"Yeah, well, we're going to have a long talk later."

Mystery dipped his head once in acknowledgement, and, closing his eyes, he began to shrink. Slowly, the six tails retracted until there was only one, short one; and his body, face and legs grew shorter until a small red, black and white dog stared up at them.

Vivi stood up, brushed herself off and unwrapped her scarf, bundling Mystery up in it and slowly walking back in the vague direction they came from. Arthur took one last cursory glance around the area to make sure there was nothing else lurking in the fog and, satisfied, he scurried after his friends.

Behind the friends, two pink, fiery rings glowed in the mist, before they extinguished and the owner floated silently away.

Lewis' hands smoked as he wafted through the fog, thinking over his decision. After some deliberation, Lewis decided he had made the right choice. He had pulled the wool over the spirit's eyes, but it would be back in time; once it realised it had been fooled. In saving Vivi, Lewis had also spared Arthur — but not for long. He would be back, and that coward had better watch out — he wouldn't live to cross Lewis Pepper a second time.

Arthur Kingsmen was a dead man walking.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 **DISCLAIMERS: The spirit's appearance is borrowed from TakaraOfTheNorotiou6's video, "Mystery Skulls Animated: We Stand Together" and Charlie's Ifrit!Lewis comic on Tumblr. Arthur's gun function prototype headcannon is derived from DryeGuy's video, "The Return of Lewis - Part 5", and from hyperchronic's comic on DeviantArt.**  
 **Chapter title excerpted from "Freaking Out" by Mystery Skulls.**


	4. Chapter 4: Exhaustion

After Vivi had dropped Mystery in the back of the van with Arthur, she had hopped into the front seat, buckled herself in and turned the key in the ignition, sparking the engine into life. Vivi raised her eyes to the mirror — she was surprised to see Mystery huddled on Arthur's lap, closing his eyes gratefully as the man gently stroked his back. Over the last few months, it had almost been as if the mechanic had been avoiding Mystery, but now here he was, comforting him and whispering things in his ear. Vivi put it down to concern for the dog and returned her attention to the road.

The fog miraculously seemed to be clearing up. Before it had wafted in patches along the sides of the road, but thanks to the help of the moonlight, Vivi could see the road to their hometown almost as clear as day. As she looked to her left, she could make out the dim street lights that illuminated Tempo, and buttery squares that were the lit windows of houses beckoned to her. Beyond that, the road snaked along a dusty plain and in between the flat-topped mountains that surrounded her home. She sighed. Just seeing the town made her feel relaxed and safe, as if the ghostly attack just an hour before had never happened.

She soon came to a T-intersection — the far side of the road to the left was lined with bare, twisted trees, and on the other side ran a strip of tall grass before the tree line cut off the shrubs. Vivi turned off to the right, the van lurching as it transitioned from the bumpy dirt road and onto smooth tarmac. She heard soft snores from the back and Vivi smiled to herself. They _had_ had a busy day — one filled with minor haunting investigations and once or twice, they had almost come into contact with a spirit or two. But the latest development had really drained them — you didn't get attacked by a scale-ten vengeful spirit every night. The gang had a lot of catching up to do.

The bluenette yawned and immediately scolded herself. _You shouldn't be tired if you're driving. Stay alert — it's only twenty minutes to Tempo._ Vivi's eyelids drooped and her chin dropped to her chest. Her fingers relaxed and the van went careering over the road, almost toppling a road sign and narrowly avoiding ramming into a tree. The tires screeched as Vivi tried to keep in control, but her mind was getting fuzzier and fuzzier. _Stay . . . Awake. Stay . . . Awa. . ._

Suddenly the van jolted to a halt and Vivi dimly registered the jingling of something small being shaken.

"Vee?" Vivi gave a small groan.

"Vivi?" It seemed as though Arthur had been snapped awake by the wild ride. Mystery jumped back up onto the seat beside him and dropped some silver keys into his lap. Well, that was what the jingling sound was.

Arthur leaned forward and put his flesh hand on Vivi's slumped shoulder. "Vivi? You're really tired. I think I should drive."

Vivi tried to shake her head — to tell him she was fine, and she just needed a tiny rest — but she felt something warm and soft wrap around her shoulders and something cold and hard lift up her legs, and she was lifted from the driver's seat and set down lengthways in the back. Two clicks sounded — one by her shoulder, one by her feet — and the warm, furry lump that was Mystery curled up on her knees.

Vivi struggled to sit up, but a warm hand gently pushed her back down. "Shh, just sleep Vivi. It's okay, I can drive us home."

"No, you're"— Vivi yawned hugely —"you're tired too. You . . . Might . . . Crash the van."

"Nah, it's okay. I got plenty of sleep last night — I think." She opened her mouth to say something but instead another huge yawn came out. "Um, Vee?" That was Arthur again.

"Yes?"

"Just one last thing. You remember the ghost attack earlier?"

"Yeah."

"Where . . . When did you zone out of things? When I got there you were sitting on the ground, and you weren't moving."

Vivi tried to force her eyes open so she wouldn't fall asleep on Arthur. "I was walking . . . And Mystery disappeared. So I sped up, and. . . . And this big, green ghosty thing was facing Mystery. Then . . . Mystery turned into a giant fox thing, aaaand. . . . The ghost hurt him, then you jumped in front of me — and I'm not sure, I think the ghost ran away after that. If . . . If ghosts can run, of course."

From behind her thick lashes, Vivi could just see Arthur and Mystery exchange worried looks. Then she dropped from her elbow and onto the seat. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Arthur. I'm just so tired. . . . All of . . . A sudden. . ."

"That's . . . That's okay, Vee. You just get some sleep, alright? I'll wake you up when we get home."

With the last of her effort, Vivi gave a sleepy smile. "Thanks, Artie." Then her eyelids closed completely and her breathing fell into deep, rhythmic patterns.

Arthur picked up an old camping rug from the floor and draped it over his sleeping friend. Mystery's nose poked out the side and he whuffed indignantly, but Arthur ignored him and climbed into the front. He buckled himself in and grabbed the keys from the dashboard, where he had last left them. They slid easily into the ignition and soon the van was rumbling lowly, like a great sleeping beast.

Arthur pulled back onto the road and continued to drive. About five minutes down the road, he cast a worried glance in the mirror. Vivi was still sleeping soundly, but Mystery was standing beside her, sniffing cautiously. Then, with a little grunt, he scrabbled up onto the passenger's seat.

Arthur gave a small sigh and reached across to scratch behind Mystery's ears. "I'm not too sure of this bud, but I think something may be wrong with Vivi. At the cave, after you . . . You know. . ." He took a breath. "When Vivi came, she didn't really seem as alert as she should be — it was almost as if she was underwater; her movements were slow and sluggish. At any given time I was sure her eyes were pink — but that might've just been me. When we got back from hospital, even though I didn't really see you two for some time, she just seemed . . . Out of it. I dunno. And just tonight, she says she can't even remember the flash that saved us, and now look — she can barely keep her eyes open. Well, she couldn't. It just seems as if something's wrong."

Mystery nudged Arthur's hand with his nose, and Arthur gave a small laugh. "I guess I _could_ just be being paranoid. I mean, I wouldn't want anything to happen to her." Mystery gave a low growl. "No?" Mystery gave a hushed yap, and looked at Arthur beseechingly. "You think something might be up?" The dog's tail wagged, but only once. Arthur thought he looked quite worried as well.

"Well, I guess we can find out when we get home — and get some rest. Always helps to have a clear head when you're trying to sort things out."

Arthur placed both hands on the steering wheel and gazed back through he windscreen. Mystery just sat there in the next seat, unmoving. Even though he seemed jumpy, the dog's ears stayed pricked and alert and his eyes never left the road ahead.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 **Wow guys, I cannot say how tired this chapter made me. I lost track of all the yawns I myself had as I wrote this XD**  
 **Yes, the dialogue was all really long this chapter, and I know what you're thinking — "Why is Vivi so tired? She didn't even fight." Well, yes, but let's just say that that purple flash had something to do with it.**  
 **Also, the van's front middle seat can fold down, and I'm pretty sure there is a back row of seats, but they can also fold away. And then there's that massive storage space in the back — and in my version of the van it has doors right at the back, and a huge sliding door either side to accommodate for the double row of seats. Just to avoid confusion ;)**


	5. Chapter 5: Encounters and Aftereffects

Eventually Arthur spotted the turn-off to his street and spun the wheel, changing the van's direction and taking his foot off the accelerator as they neared their house. Arthur pulled into their driveway — the third one to the left — put the brake on, took the keys out of the ignition and slumped forward, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Boy, had it been a long day. His eyelids were so heavy. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt if he rested for just a bit. . .

A sharp bark alerted him of Mystery's presence. Arthur groaned as he felt a wet nose poke his hand. "Ugh, Mystery," he groaned, turning his head to the left to face the dog. "Do we have to? I'm just so"— he yawned hugely —"tired."

Another bark from Mystery. Arthur closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess we better get inside. Don't want anyone to get suspicious."

Arthur sat up slowly and stretched, before turning around to check on Vivi. Still sleeping soundly.

"Vivi," he called, reaching out his flesh arm to shake her gently. "Come on, Viv. Wake up. We need to get back into the house."

Arthur's only response was a sleepy moan. He chuckled lightly and, turning to the sliding door, pulled the handle and stepped down. Mystery jumped out after him and trotted around the the other side of the van, where it would be easiest to get to Vivi.

Arthur followed, rubbing the blurriness from his eyes. By the time he plodded round to the other side, Mystery had succeeded in pulling the van door open with his front paws and was licking Vivi's face. She groaned.

"Ugh, Mystery . . . Come on, stop it — URRGHH! YUCK!" She wiped her now-wet mouth and scowled at the dog. "Rude, much."

Arthur sniggered as he observed the scene, but quickly reached out to undo Vivi's seatbelt once he noticed her eyelids drooping again. "Come on, Viv. I know we're all tired, but we gotta get back into the house at least. Besides, Sir Saliva here won't leave either of us alone until we do his bidding."

Arthur gripped Vivi by the elbow and hoisted her up into a sitting position before letting her lean on him to stand up and get out of the van. Mystery kicked the door shut behind them as the pair made wobbly progress down the driveway — but barely halfway there Vivi's knees gave way and she collapsed onto Arthur, eyes glowing — pink?!

"Whoa! Vivi, you okay?" Arthur gazed down at her in concern and shock as he barely held her up.

"Need . . . Sleep. . ." She mumbled inaudibly. Arthur flipped her around and picked up her legs to carry her into the house. He hadn't yet taken a step before he heard soft snores and glanced down at his blue-haired friend in surprise — she was already fast asleep, and her tinted glasses glinted eerily in the porch light.

Mystery sidled up next to Arthur and he crossed the driveway, mounted the porch steps and almost dropped Vivi as he fumbled for his keys. Mystery managed to unhook them from his belt, stand up on his hind paws and slide the blue one into the house lock before turning them and pushing the white door open. Arthur smiled gratefully at the dog and then he stumbled down the hall, taking the right-hand door right at the end; he slid her shoes off and let them drop to the floor, before managing to slip Vivi under the covers of the queen-sized bed and lay her glasses on the bedside table. His heart twinged at the sight of his blue-haired friend sleeping all alone in the bed meant for two, as it had every night he saw her for almost five months now. _I wish Lewis was here,_ he caught himself thinking for the umpteenth time. _I wish he were still alive. God, you have no idea how much she misses you, Lew. How much_ I _miss you._

A small paw scrabbled at his jean leg and Arthur turned just in time to see a stubby tail disappear around the doorframe. In a couple of strides he was out in the corridor, and from there he saw Mystery standing in the doorway to the living room, gazing at him reproachfully. The 22-year-old sighed and trudged down the hall after him, pulling the door to Vivi's — and formerly Lewis' — bedroom shut behind him.

As soon as he reached it, Arthur plopped down onto the couch, spread-eagled his arms across the back and let his head fall back, his eyes treated to a perfect view of the ceiling — if he could keep them open, that is. A low whine sounded at his feet but Arthur couldn't be bothered to push Mystery away.

All thoughts swimming around his head faded into a blur, and Arthur knew he wasn't going to be staying conscious for much longer. As he was pulled into the deep clutches of sleep, Arthur's last recurring thought was: _It's really hot in here. Is there a fire?_

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Mystery growled as Arthur slumped onto the couch and closed his eyes. Well, at least he had actually made it to the living room. If Arthur fell asleep in the van with the amount of paranormal things happening at the moment, so help him, Mystery would transform and drag the two humans into the house with his teeth — even if it meant busting his rib again. If he lost another member of the gang, Mystery might just lose it.

He hadn't lost Lewis to just any vengeful spirit either. This spirit was the one that had delivered him to the overflowing gutters of Tempo that night, bound to his canine form and colouring the rushing rainwater with his blood. He may be centuries old, but that didn't mean Mystery was immortal. He might have died if Vivi hadn't stumbled across him all those years ago and taken him in.

By code, he had been bound to his new mistress and her friends, to protect them and make sure no harm came to them. He had taken up the duty of personal bodyguard to the gang, but he didn't really mind. He was fond of Lewis, and of course he loved Vivi as well, but it was Arthur he felt he had the biggest connection with. Arthur would often let Mystery into his workshop when Vivi was away, and he would sit and tinker over various inventions, all the while babbling away to Mystery about his thoughts, as if he knew that Mystery could understand.

So the Spirit had chosen to taunt the kitsune with seriously corrupting one team member, and killing off another. It had almost driven Mystery mad with rage that night. Sometimes, in his sleep, he could still hear Lewis' wails and Arthur's screams echoing around the cavern as if he were right back there on that fateful midsummer evening.

And now the Spirit had come back, and attempted to do away with Vivi. Mystery had been forced to reveal his true identity twice now, and he did not hope he would have to use his greater form anytime soon. Those first few months, Arthur had been terrified of the dog, which was acceptable seeing what had had to be done. But now Vivi knew. Arthur knew what he was. But when Vivi finally got her senses fully back, how would she react to find out she had been nursing a monster? She might turn him out, and Mystery didn't think he could bear that. To be abandoned again.

Mystery's head snapped up. He had heard something. Something outside, perhaps in the trees or bushes. He gave a low whine, hoping Arthur would react. No, that didn't help. Judging by the sound of Arthur's deep breathing, he was already in dreamland, and oblivious to what was happening around him.

Goodness, had the spectre's purple blast affected Mystery too? It seemed Arthur had _magenta_ hair. Yes, the colour was licking its way down the mechanic's spiky hair. Wait, not colour. Fire.

Mystery yelped and shied away as the flames crept lower. What could he do?! He couldn't transform now — that would require too much energy. And he couldn't use the full extent of his abilities trapped in this meek form. He couldn't talk — there was something here. What to do? What to—

Ahh. Mystery spotted a conveniently-placed esky, full of ice. Vivi had insisted Arthur put one in the van so they could keep their drinks — and overheated equipment — cool. Excitable, that one. A kindred spirit indeed. Arthur hadn't had the chance to lug it past the living room doorway before Vivi rushed inside and ushered him into the van, so he had left the box there, sitting on the yellow carpet.

Well, that was about as good a weapon as any. Mystery dashed for it and gripped the handle in his teeth and dragged it across the room, displaying an astounding amount of strength for a creature so small. Once it was sitting in front of Arthur, in one fluid movement Mystery wedged his head underneath the container, slid it onto his back and heaved it upwards into the air.

Anyone watching at that moment would have been paralysed with amazement. The esky arced through the air, hit the wall above Arthur's head and the lid fell off, pouring melted ice all over him and the mysterious fire, dousing the flames and the human's ridiculously spiked hair. The container tumbled down and — miraculously just avoiding hitting Arthur in the head — bounced once on the sofa, rolled off and hit the floor with a loud _thud_.

Arthur bolted upright with a shriek, sodden hair dripping over his eyes. The scene looked almost comical with his sparking prosthetic and saucer-wide eyes, but Mystery bit back his laugh and kept his face straight.

"Mystery, what the heck?!" Arthur yelled, wiping his hair out of his eyes. "Way to wake me up, buddy. Now the sofa and the carpet's all wet — Vivi's gonna kill me when she sees this mess!"

Mystery shook his head, whining. He couldn't talk as a dog, but he still couldn't employ his kitsune form. Looking around, Mystery scampered over to the _Ghostbusters_ boxed set Vivi had left beside the TV. He turned it around and pointed at the "no-ghosts" symbol with his paw.

Arthur was still irritated about the water incident. "What? What do you mean, 'Ghostbusters'? It's not the first time Vivi's left—" his eyes widened. "Oh," he said slowly as he pieced things together. _"Oh."_

Mystery nodded and Arthur's face went pale. "You mean that spirit came back? The green one? What did it do?"

The dog looked around before settling on a picture of Lewis and Vivi. He gestured at Lewis with his paw. "Lewis? Oh, uhh . . . The purple one?" Mystery nodded again. "That was a ghost?" Another nod.

Arthur's back snapped ramrod-straight. "What did it do?! It didn't get Vivi, did it?" This time, Mystery shook his head and gave a whine. "You . . . She's alright, then. You can't tell me what it did, can you? Not . . . now."

Mystery rolled his eyes and nosed at the small clock on the coffee table. "Right. I guess it is late." Arthur frowned. "But I can't get to sleep now. I'll go have a shower and . . . And have breakfast."

The gang had gotten the anonymous tip-off to go check out a haunting at the edge of the next town at 01:46 that morning, and it had taken an hour each way. Of course, they never got to actually find their subjects as that green monster-spirit had barred their way, and afterwards they were too tired to go finish their business down the road.

It was almost five o'clock when Arthur finally shuffled back into the room, wearing his rumpled shirt and blue-and-white striped pyjama pants. He could feel the tiredness slipping away — perhaps it had been an aftereffect of the flash. He walked across the room to retrieve his robotic arm — which he had left on the couch — and clicked it into place, then sauntered through the wide doorway into the kitchen.

Arthur grabbed a jar of instant coffee off a shelf and just as he was about to unscrew the lid, he heard a wail from the direction of Vivi's room. With a slam Arthur set the jar back down and hurried to the front of the house.

He flung his left arm out and grabbed the doorframe, swinging into the room. Vivi was propped up against the headboard, breathing heavily. The pink glow was gone from her eyes, and the tinted glasses perched on her nose hid her eyes along with her fringe; but her usual sapphire eye colour seemed faded, and her disheveled cyan hair indicated she had had a restless sleep.

"Hey, Vee. Everything alright?" Arthur stepped into the room tentatively.

Vivi backed up across the pillows, sheets clutched to her chest and eyes wide. "Who . . . Who are you?" She stammered.

Arthur was taken aback. "Uhh, it's me, A-Arthur. Vivi, are you okay?"

As soon as she heard Arthur's name some of the colour seeped back into her cheeks, and Vivi relaxed, the sheet dropping from her fingers and onto her lap. She gave a relieved sigh. "Oh, Arthur! It's only you. You startled me! Hey, Mystery," she cooed, upon seeing the dog appear around Arthur's legs. "Come on! Give me a hug."

Mystery seemed nervous after what had just happened, but he scampered forwards and jumped up onto the bed anyways. Vivi enveloped him in her blue sweater sleeves and held him there for a moment, before letting go and running her fingers over his fur. When she reached his ribs, Mystery winced noticeably and squirmed uncomfortably.

"Oh!" Vivi cried, worried. She hurriedly withdrew her hands and gazed down at the dog over her half-rimmed glasses. "What happened, boy? You okay?"

Arthur and Mystery shared a strange look across the room. Didn't Vivi remember what had happened to Mystery?

Arthur walked across the turquoise carpet to Vivi and sat down on the bed next to her. "Do you remember what happened last night, Viv? I'm a bit tired and can't seem to put it together — and I need to record all our jobs." The mechanic decided to play it cool. No point in stressing Vivi out.

The bluenette's eyes drifted in thought. "I'm pretty sure we were called on for that haunting at Mr Shimada's grocer — and then there was that issue at the McCree place with the children — and then you were called in to your uncle's shop for that car, and we had lunch at the Peppers' restaurant . . . Oh! And then the floating candelabra case, the talking sock puppets. . ." Vivi counted off on her fingers. "I think that was it."

"There weren't any ghosts, I guess?" Arthur interrupted.

"No, no ghosts. We got that tip-off for Jamison Fawkes' junkyard and—" Vivi cut off abruptly, wrinkling her nose. "It . . . My memory pretty much stops there. I think I got tired and you drove us back," she added, turning to Arthur. "But . . . Yeah. That's really strange. Maybe I was just too tired to pay attention to things," she laughed.

Arthur snuck Mystery an anxious look. A complete memory wipe? It seemed like a possibility, what with Vivi's scene earlier. Maybe it was just the shock. Maybe she would remember it all soon—

"What are ya thinking about?"

Arthur started slightly and focussed on Vivi. She was gazing at him, with that cute unsuspecting smile on her face. Arthur glanced down at Mystery, who flicked his ear impatiently. "Oh — nothing." Arthur returned the grin. "Just Uncle Lance and the grilling he's gonna give me for leaving that car unfinished. Well, we better get some breakfast, eh?" Arthur stood up, stretching. "It's. . ." Arthur checked the clock on the bedside table. "Ten past five. I'll go make you some cocoa, yeah?" At Vivi's nod, Arthur hauled her to her feet and the three of them made their way back to the kitchen.

Arthur settled on making the drinks while Vivi pulled some bacon and eggs from the fridge. "Tomatoes?" Arthur gave her a thumbs-up and Vivi snatched two from the vegetable crisper.

"Uh, Vee?" That was Arthur. Vivi set the food on the counter and turned to her friend. "I was just thinking . . . Mystery really helped a lot with our investigations yesterday. Do you think — I mean, if it's okay with you — do you think we could let Mystery have some bacon and eggs too? It could be a little treat." Arthur hadn't really thought about it much, but that ghost incident had scared him a little. He imagined that the dog food Vivi fed her pet didn't taste too good.

The aforementioned owner considered it for a little, then shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Why not? Just this once couldn't hurt. But don't get too bent on it, 'kay Mystery?"

Mystery stuck his tongue out in a doggy smile for Vivi, and when she turned her back he gave Arthur a grateful nod. The mechanic smiled back.

Ten minutes later, a plate clattered down in front of Arthur at the breakfast counter. " _Bon appetite_."

"Thanks, Viv."

Arthur snuck a side glance at Mystery. One would expect the dog to be wolfing his meal down, but Mystery was picking it apart like a person and eating it as slowly as he could. Arthur had persuaded Vivi to let Mystery have some grilled tomatoes, too. He seemed to be enjoying them.

Arthur's mind started to wander as the first shafts of sunlight streamed from the window. Strains of birdsong floated in, accompanying his swirling thoughts. _What happened to Vivi? Mystery seemed worried — maybe he knows something about it. Hopefully we can help her. We'll have to train in case that spirit comes back. Maybe it won't come back. But what if it does?_

Arthur felt a metaphorical weight settle on his shoulders. _I have to protect these two. They're the only friends I've got._ He looked down at his steaming plate. _But, first,_ he thought, picking up a fork and stabbing an unfortunate tomato, _I should have some breakfast. Don't want to be facing off vengeful spirits on an empty stomach, now do we?_

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 **I had no idea about some of the names, so I just threw in some Overwatch trash XD**

 **(Btw my friend sent me this a while ago after reading this chapter and — I'm laughing way too hard)**


	6. Chapter 6: Pizza, Anyone?

**TRIGGER WARNING: Glass cuts — it describes them afterwards, though it doesn't go into much detail. I know it's a minor thing, but just in case any of you are touchy about this sort of thing!**

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Arthur stood up and wiped his arm across his forehead, smearing grease all over his face. He grimaced at the job in front of him — a small blue car with its bonnet crumpled and ruptured engine hanging forward onto the floor. Boy, this was going to be hard.

Uncle Lance had told his nephew the owner had driven the car into a tree and broken his leg, but due to a wedding, he wanted the car repaired in as little as 48 hours. Arthur sighed and selected a wrench from his tool box. Some people just couldn't be satisfied with a job well done.

The mechanic once again laid down on a red creeper and slid under the car. Spotting a loose bolt, he reached up to screw it back into place.

"HEY!"

Arthur jumped and hit his head against a pipe, dislodging it from its housing with a _twang_. The bolt he had been trying to fix earlier tinkled to the floor and rolled away. Cursing, Arthur pulled the creeper out into the open and sat up, rubbing his head. He glared up at Vivi.

She grinned down at him sheepishly. "Uh, sorry. But we got another notification on Twitter." She held out her phone and waved it in his face. "It says we need to hurry with Mr Fawkes's junkyard thing. The supposed ghost is totally wrecking everything — and the neighbours are complaining. Scared, I suppose."

Arthur grimaced and reached for a rag, wiping his dirty hands. "Really, Vivi? I'm kind of spooked after what happened yesterday — I didn't really want anything to do with ghosts on our agenda today. Besides, I have to fix this mess up by tomorrow. And you _know_ Thursdays are busy! Uncle Lance will be on my back about it if I don't do my work!"

Vivi's shoulders slumped, but she quickly covered up her disappointment with a smile. "Oh, that's okay. And sorry about the Thursday thing — Mystery and I will just have to go check it out then. We _were_ thinking of having lunch at Surf's Up Surprise though—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Arthur stood up and stretched before kicking the creeper back under the car. "I didn't say I wasn't _free_ today. I just said it was _busy_. I'm sure my uncle won't mind if I take a few hours off—"

"Thanks, Artie!" Vivi threw her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. Then she backed up and smiled. "Well, come on! These hauntings aren't going to sort themselves! Besides, we might even see a real ghost — finally!"

Arthur bit his lip. He'd forgotten about the memory issue.

Mystery sidled up next to him, playing the part of clueless pet to perfection. But as soon as Vivi turned her back, Mystery closed his mouth and he shot a look at Arthur. A look that said, _Be careful. We don't know what we're dealing with here._

Then he scampered out the door after Vivi, tongue lolling.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Twenty minutes later, the gang sat in a booth at Surf's Up, chatting over pizza.

"Remember when you formed our group?" Arthur snickered, mouth full of the greasy food. "A young cadet, fresh out of the academy, stripped of your badge _three days_ into the job. Honestly, Vivi, I think you're the first one. How did you even manage that?"

"That guy deserved it." Vivi crossed her arms. "No one disrespects me like that and gets away with it. And he was _fine_. Some minor burns, but it's not like the taser immobilised him."

Arthur lost it, slapping the table and throwing his head back to howl at the ceiling. "A _taser_? Wow, Viv," he laughed, "I didn't know you had it in you." He received a firm slap on his prosthetic for his efforts, which made Vivi withdraw and curse and Arthur laugh all the more.

"Anyway," Arthur said, resuming his story after sufficiently calming down. "That very day you just bounced right into the house, waving that massive supernatural book in one hand and the TV series in the other. Yelling that you had an idea, and we needed to 'act on it ASAP'. 'I just had the craziest idea! We need to form a ghostbusting group! Just like Egon and Peter and Ray!' Honestly Viv, you crack me up. And of course, Lewis agreed immediately. I couldn't just worm out of it, could I? And then there was the name."

Vivi's eyes narrowed, but Arthur continued to prod.

"You woke _all_ of us up at 12:30, Vee! Couldn't it wait?"

"No."

"Well, who would have thought you'd just be trawling through YouTube at midnight? You find Luis Dubuc. You _scream_ — and we all thought you were being stabbed! So we run in there, and you're bouncing on your chair, pointing at the computer screen and yelling that it was the perfect name! The 'Mystery Skulls'. Though come to think of it, it _was_ a cool catch."

Vivi frowned. "I _know_ this story, Arthur. I've listened to you tell it to anyone who can listen. It's overused."

"But it's _still_ funny after all this time." Arthur started to chuckle at the memory. "YouTube-trawling at midnight. Pffft."

"Luis' music is _good_ ," Vivi whined. "Scratch that, it's amazing."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, you've told us like a thousand times. And we're kind of getting over your Mystery Skulls puns."

"That wasn't a pun." Vivi raised an eyebrow. "But if you're after them . . . I can comply. But I promise, I won't Freak you Out-"

"Nope!" Arthur leaned forward and clapped his hand over his friend's mouth. "None of that today. I was just starting to enjoy myself!"

Vivi wrestled Arthur's arm away and cracked a grin. "Well, you'll have to live with it. I'm not just going to drop the subject, because his Every Note makes me feel like I'm Losin' My Soul." She smirked as Arthur shot her a pained look and shook his head sorrowfully.

"You're a pain, Viv."

"You love me."

Arthur snorted. "Likewise. I'm a big help to this team — I've lost track of all the ghost-finding and -confronting devices I've made for you."

Vivi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I was the one who bought that van. Without me, we'd all be walking. Without me, we wouldn't even be _searching_ for spirits!"

"Without _me_ , that van would still be sitting in Lance's garage, a rusting hulk of useless parts."

Vivi sighed. "Yeah, okay, you got me. You win. Now are you gonna finish that pizza or what?"

Arthur smiled and lifted another slice of Supreme to his mouth. "You know, yo—" he cut off suddenly and sniffed the air. He looked around suspiciously. "Uhh, Vee, do you smell smoke?"

"It's probably just the kitchen."

"No but I mean, it's really _strong_. . . And is it just me, or is it getting really _hot_ in here. . ."

Vivi fanned her reddening cheeks and went to take her sweater off. "Now that I think of it, it is quite steamy."

Mystery's ears shot up and he started to growl. "Hey, Mystery," Vivi said, reaching out a hand. "What's the matte—"

A deafening roar rumbled through the building and Arthur and Vivi clapped their hands over their ears, squeezing their eyes shut to try and block out the bellowing noise. People in the shop screamed and ran, tripping over chairs and each other in their rush to get to safety.

Vivi opened her eyes and attempted to speak to Arthur. "What in the fickle is happening here?!" She shouted, trying to be heard over the din. "Where is it coming from— MYSTERY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? GET BACK HERE!"

Arthur turned to see Mystery vault off a nearby table onto the serving counter, toppling jars and the cash register, and from there onto a widely-built man wearing a grease-stained apron. The man's red face grew even redder in surprise and he yelled as Mystery knocked his white cap off. Dancing crazily, he spun around and tried to swat the dog off but to no avail.

Vivi was on her feet and running for her pet. "MYSTERY, YOU YAPPING KNUCKLEHEAD! GET OFF HIM _RIGHT NOW!_ " Mystery snarled at the man and bared his teeth, before grabbing hold of a leather strap around the cook's neck and snapping it off. The glowing purple talisman on the end spun through the air and shattered on the black-and-white tiles, and the roaring stopped. Purple smoke-like tendrils wafted up from the shards scattered on the floor and curled around Vivi.

She gazed down at the smoke with a sense of familiarity, before turning to Arthur for an explanation—

"ARTHUR! LOOK OUT!" Vivi screamed.

Arthur had made it halfway to Vivi before he stopped and looked up just in time to see an enormous electric lamp come flying straight for his head. He ducked and the fitting swung right over him — and then the cord snapped and the light smashed on the ground, setting magenta flames loose on the restaurant. The terrified patrons stood shell-shocked behind the counter, staring in awe at the newest development.

Vivi quickly forgot about the lamp and redirected her attention to the people left. "Out! Everybody out!" She yelled, and rushed to the door, pulling it wide. "OUT! FIRE!"

The screams started and waiters and cooks vaulted over the countertop, pushing each other out of the way and shoving tables aside in their haste to get out.

"NO PUSHING!" Vivi yelled, and held the door open wider. "Just make your way to the door, and once outside please find another shop to shelter in. We've got this under control!"

The panic calmed by a notch, and the people streamed through the door into the bright sunlight outside. As soon as everyone was out, Vivi slammed the door and ran towards Arthur, barely aware of the purple tendrils clinging onto her body, slowly winding up towards her eyes.

Just as the coloured flames licked his shoes, Vivi dived and slammed right into Arthur, knocking him out of the way and onto the floor. She hurriedly picked herself up and pulled him away from the fire, depositing him at the other side of the restaurant before she straightened and scanned the space for Mystery.

With some panic she realised he was nowhere to be seen.

"Mystery!" She called, voice rising with fear. "Mystery! Where are you? Come here, boy!"

Mystery skidded out from behind the counter, paws sliding on the tiles. He leaped, just cleared the fire, and raced over to Vivi, claws clacking on the floor. The blue-haired girl knelt down to pat her dog, but in a split second, the pinkish flames shot across the restaurant, wound around Vivi and raced towards Arthur.

"Not again!" Vivi whined, and as an afterthought: "This is definitely a mad ghost."

She reached out to grab her friend's hand, but just as she did Mystery jumped onto the Arthur's chest, earning a loud _oof_ , before lowering his stance and growling threateningly at some stray smoky tendrils.

The ground beneath Vivi's feet rumbled and she turned back to the remains of the lamp, squinting into the fire there. It looked like something was manifesting. She craned her neck forward and shielded her eyes with a hand, trying to make out the shape in the flames—

Suddenly there was a burst of white light and Vivi found herself flying backwards, flailing wildly for something to grab onto. Finding nothing, she twisted her body to look around. Arthur's foot almost kicked her in the face as she squinted into the sunlight, catching a flash of—

Glass.

Arthur crashed through it, leaving thin ribbons of blood trailing in the air, but just as Vivi connected with her part of the wall-sized window, the glass gave way and shattered, the pieces seemingly almost bending outward to accommodate for her shape as she passed through, unharmed. She flew through the air, over the paved street and startled tourists.

Something tickled her head and Vivi snatched out at it, fingers wrapping around a sturdy maple branch. Her body jolted as her flight was violently disrupted and she dangled there, trying to keep a grip on the rough bark.

Meanwhile, Arthur impacted bodily with a shop wall — _Shoes and Shine_ , depicted the sign — and slumped to the ground, groaning with pain. As stars burst across his vision, Arthur found himself surprised that he was still conscious, until he noticed Mystery's unmoving form splayed next to him. _Great._

It seemed that Mystery had taken the brunt of the impact, but that had taken him out of action. Now that he couldn't find Vivi, Arthur's main priority was to get the dog out of the line of fire.

Arthur used his elbow to lever himself up, and winced as his shoulder cracked. _I'm gonna be feeling that for the rest of this week._ He shook his head to clear it, but decided he must still be affected by the crash when he saw what he did next.

The pizza joint the gang had just exited was free of fire and seemed completely untouched by the raging flames, that were now arranging themselves into letters on the side of the next building. And what were they spelling?

A ...R ... T-H— _Oh my god._ The flames had spelt out his name, which was arranged on top of a skull-and-crossbones symbol. _Okay, I'm going mad._ The flames now seemed to be drawing out great spikes. Spikes pointing upward, almost like—

Beside Arthur, Mystery gave out a thin whine which snapped the mechanic out of his reverie and prompted him to get to his knees. After a quick once-over — a throbbing ache in his shoulder and a dozen minor stinging cuts — Arthur turned to Mystery and examined him. He couldn't see anything on the outside, but that didn't mean the animal was unharmed. Arthur bundled the dog up in his arms and got to his feet, swinging around to pelt down the street. They needed to get back to the van. But where was Vivi?

As he ran, Arthur scanned the streets, and then he saw her. Dangling a somewhat four metres from the pavement, the bluenette was wildly kicking her legs and simultaneously trying to keep her grip on a strong-looking branch. Purple-y tendrils were curled around her upper torso, snaking their way up toward her face.

Arthur veered away across the road, racing towards the tree were Vivi was hanging. It looked like her fingers were slipping — and those ghostly strings weren't doing anything to calm his nerves.

"VIVI!" Arthur yelled, straining to be heard over the background screaming. "VIVI, HOLD ON! DON'T LET GO!"

Vivi visibly tried to readjust her grip, arms shaking with the effort, but her fingers again slipped and she was left holding onto the branch with two fingers on her left hand. "I can't hold on!" She panted, knuckles turning white. "I'm slipping!"

Just as she let go Arthur threw himself forward, clutching Mystery close to his chest so as to take most of the damage himself. He scraped along the ground and tensed for the second impact, but after a few seconds of waiting he opened his eyes and looked up at Vivi. And gasped.

She was floating over him, enveloped in a cloud of magenta . . . What was it? It was just a transparent blob, really. But after a while of hovering, and determining the perfect position, the blob dissipated and Vivi thumped onto Arthur, driving the air from his lungs.

The bluenette lifted her face from Arthur's chest and reddened, finding herself nose-to-nose with her friend. Arthur coughed awkwardly and she pulled back, sitting up. After finding that straddling Arthur didn't really help the situation, she rolled off, stood up and brushed herself down.

"Uhh, sorry," she mumbled, offering a hand. Arthur took it and used it to heave himself to his feet, carefully keeping a hold on Mystery. He grumbled something incomprehensible and scrubbed at his face with his right hand, sure it was beet-red.

"Uh, yeah, that's fine," he finally managed before turning around, gesturing to Vivi over his shoulder. "We should . . . probably get back to the van. Mystery's hurt." _Again._

"Oh, yeah. We should . . . Probably do that . . . Haha. . ." Vivi attempted a laugh, which made things even more uncomfortable. She stood there for a moment, contemplating, before she huffed, straightened up and pushed her glasses up with a finger, marching ahead of Arthur.

"I'll get the van," she called over her shoulder, arms swinging at her sides. "You find out what's up with that ghost."

Arthur yelped and swung around to follow. "No! Don't leave me here!"

But Vivi was already halfway across the road and out of earshot. "You'll be fine," she called as an afterthought. "Just ask it what it wants!"

Arthur groaned, turning to the magenta flames creeping towards him. _It wants ME,_ he thought, but he levelled a hard glare at the fire, clutching Mystery close.

"Look, my friend and I aren't going to hurt you. We just . . . We want to figure out what's up, okay? Maybe we could even help you pass on." The fire raged at this, flames jumping up to a metre high. "Ooooor not. But we don't know why you're doing this. We could help you if you dial down the . . . Bloodthirst by a notch, okay?"

The fire leaped in height again and came bearing down on him, twisting and coiling like a huge snake. Arthur gasped and backed up, pressing up against the tree. The flames crept forever closer, the heat driving before them burning his face. The flames formed into a giant whip, which coiled back and aimed at its target. With a fearful shriek, Arthur slipped around the tree and ran for it, hearing the whip snap against the tree where he had been moments before.

Angered, the whip unwound itself from the tree and moved around it, aiming again at the running figure. It reeled back and then shot forward, whizzing through the air at an unbelievable speed. It latched onto Arthur's arm, curling itself around it and yanking him back. The force of the yank both halted Arthur and sent him spinning, the fire obligingly phasing through his torso, seemingly enjoying watching the human spinning-top. The solid shapes of the world around Arthur bled into each other, creating a confusing whirl of colours. His left arm loosened and uncurled away from his body, sending Mystery flying off into the colours.

The whip suddenly snapped ramrod-straight and Arthur was jolted to a stop again in as many minutes. He fell to the ground, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the tumbling world around him. Arthur was sure that if he opened his eyes and tried to focus, they would just go rolling about in his head, complying with the spinning illusion his brain was trying to sort out.

When everything settled down, Arthur cracked open an eye, gazing out at the world around him. But surely it couldn't be right — everything was _pink_.

No, the world wasn't pink. Arthur was surrounded by a wall of magenta flame, which curved around him in a complete circle, blocking off his escape. Perhaps he could leap over them — but no sooner had the thought crossed his mind, the flames raged higher, sealing off the possibility.

The hot wall was closing in on Arthur. Even as he watched, the grassy space around him gradually grew smaller and smaller and the fire ring grew tighter and tighter. As Arthur recalled later, even though his mind raced, he never touched on the thought of the imminent doom looming. All he could think about was Vivi and Mystery, and that he hoped they were safe. Preferably sealed in the van, surrounded by ghost-compelling charms and gadgets.

As the flames burned hotter, Arthur thought he saw the outline of a hunched figure forming. Yes, it was definitely there, and growing stronger and more solid every second. Was that a tie he could see? And what about those massive clenched hands — hands Arthur was sure could easily wrap around his neck. _Wow, it says a lot that that's the only description I can think of._

Just as the wall of fire advanced again, the squealing of tires pierced Arthur's ears and the gang's orange van burst through the flames, crashing right through the ghost and screeching to a stop in front of Arthur. Vivi flung the door wide and leapt out, stumbling across the grass and dropping to her knees in front of him. Around them, the flames dissipated, leaving no trace that they were ever there in the first place.

Vivi reached up a hand, cupping Arthur's face, scrutinising him. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Arthur was still in shock. "N. . .No, I don't think so." He spoke through a split lip, and winced as a throbbing headache started up behind his eyes. He groaned and reached up with his cold, metallic arm to cradle his head.

There were five other cuts on his face — fault to the glass, no doubt. A small, slanting cut on the bridge of his nose; a smear of blood at the corner of his left eye, and on the other side of his face, a slash of red through his eyebrow; a small scratch ran down from his hairline, and one last long cut arced vertically up his cheek.

"Let me fix that." Out of nowhere, Vivi produced a small blue bandaid and peeled the paper off. "BWOMP!" She stuck it across the cut on her friend's cheek and adjusted her glasses, seemingly over-excited and still pumped with adrenaline from the previous action.

Arthur reached up again, this time tracing with a finger down the smooth surface of the bandaid. He smiled gratefully at Vivi. "That was unnecessary, but thanks."

"You're welcome!" Vivi stood, once again hauling Arthur to his feet before guiding him to the van, babbling all the way. "Now, let's get home and see how much damage angry ghosts are capable of inflicting, why don't we?"

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 **In case there aren't any Fallers that picked this up, I took a little bit of Mabel Pines' (from Gravity Falls) silly personality and gave it to Vivi. I think it rather suits her.**  
 **She better go easy on the disinfectant, too. . .**


	7. Chapter 7: Getting In Too Deep

After a talk-down from Vivi and a lot of persuasion on Arthur's side, Mystery and his owner walked out the front door, leaving Arthur at his uncle's place for the night. Hopefully Arthur could talk Lance out of anything too drastic.

Of course, it wasn't because Arthur didn't respect his uncle — it was just he was way too good at worrying. Lance loved Arthur, but he could drive his nephew mad sometimes.

Arthur glanced at the clock — it was only one past three, and Lance would be home by five. Perhaps now would be a good time to continue work with the car.

Arthur heaved himself up from where he was splayed on the sofa and shuffled down the corridor, eventually reaching the door to the shop. He slipped through and weaved around the various pieces of junk scattered around, earning several scrapings on his arm from jagged pieces of metal poking out.

The mechanic rolled a creeper out with his foot, absently rubbing the newest additions to his scratch collection. He could probably start where he left off, and that way he could work from the bottom up.

Arthur shrugged off his vest, catching it with both hands behind his back before throwing it over a peg on the wall. This car was leaking, and he didn't want to get it dirty. Ten years and he still had a clean vest — he didn't want to start today.

Arthur laid down on the creeper with a wrench in hand, slowly easing under the car. Arthur sighed as soon as he saw the damage. This was going to take a few hours at least! Arthur let his arms fall by his sides and huffed. He could just spend this time sleeping — he was so drained, and surely thirty minutes or so wouldn't matter. . .

A loud _thud_ from the living room pierced the tranquil silence and Arthur jumped, snagging his wrist on the screw he lost earlier. Ugh, how did that get there?! Ow, there was blood too. Better wash it — who knew where that screw had been?

"Artie! Kid, ya there? Ya girl friend texted me sayin' you'd be here!"

Arthur hit his head on the car for the second time that day and groaned. What a perfect time for his uncle to come home.

"Artie!"

"Okay okay, I'm coming — hold on!" Arthur tried to push the creeper back out from under the car, but something was holding it back. The tyre? A toolbox?

"Jamie!"

Ugh, Arthur hated that nickname.

" _Hold on_ , Uncle Lance!" Finally, the creeper gave a massive jolt and flew out from under the car, carrying Arthur with it. It rolled barely two metres before its motion was arrested by another jolt and Arthur found his legs piled up on a stray engine.

"Kid, what on _earth_ are ya doin'?" Uncle Lance had emerged from the corridor, stumbling upon his misshapen nephew. "Takin' a nap?"

Arthur blinked and shook his head, planting both hands solidly on the ground before pushing himself up and swinging his legs to the side and off the engine. "Just had a bit of an accident."

"Uh huh." Lance held out a hand and Arthur took it, almost having his prosthetic wrenched from its housing as Lance yanked him roughly to his feet. "An' it looks like . . . Holy crap, kid, what happened to ya _arm_?"

Arthur glanced down at his flesh arm and the web of oozing scratches adorning his wrist. _Wow, they almost look like . . . Uh oh._

"Ahh. It's not what it looks like." _Damn it! That's what they all say!_ "Y-You see . . . We kinda had a bit of a run-in with a _pretty_ mad ghost. . ."

"As if. You're not _cuttin'_ yaself are ya, Jamie?"

Arthur took a step back, raising his hands in defence. "N- _No_! Why would I?"

"Is this about the car?" Lance narrowed his eyes. "Are ya _tryin'_ ta git outta work? Or is there somethin' else goin' on?"

"Uncle Lance I swear I'm fine!"

"No, Artie, this is def'nitely not okay. You're goin' ta see someone."

"But _I don't need to!_ " Arthur yelled, waving his arms. "I'm perfectly fine!" Noticing his uncle staring at his scratched-up limb, he stopped waving it around and hid it behind his back. "And this is not about the car!"

"No, Artie, ya not gettin' outta this one." Lance headed for the door, unhooking the truck keys from his belt. "You're gettin' in too deep — I knew that boy's death rattled ya. If you're not in the car in five, I'll drag ya there maself."

Arthur sagged, knowing he'd never change his uncle's mind now. Once he made up his mind, it set like concrete. _Great. I bet I'll be going to see some shrink or something. Whoopie-Doo, won't Vivi love to hear about this._

—

Ten minutes later, Arthur sat up in his uncle's battered old truck, on his way to the shrink. As soon as they turned out of his road, Arthur let his head fall with a heavy _thud_ against the window and closed his eyes. This was the first time he was going to see a councillor since his eighth birthday after Lance found a dead bird on his windowsill.

Even though Arthur had insisted he had found it and was going to bury it, Lance wouldn't take it and next thing he knew, he was sitting in a stiff chair in front of a scary woman staring him down. Arthur shuddered at the memory.

 _"So, Ar-thur Kings-men." She spat his name out like it was a disease. "Could you tell me about what you did?"_

 _"I found a dead bird in the backyard," Arthur whimpered, feeling all too exposed in the roomy chair. "I took it to my room because I saw next door's cat on the fence. He likes to eat birds. I put it on my windowsill until I could find a shoebox to bury it in."_

 _The woman leaned forward, her obviously fake grin stretching up to the corner of her eyes. "Suppose," she said, "Have you ever struggled with sudden outbursts of anger? The need to harm something, perhaps?"_

Eight-year-old Arthur hadn't known what to say, and the fake woman had scribbled down something on paper and given it to Lance. Nothing had ever happened, but from then on Arthur had been careful to watch what he did and said lest his worrying uncle suspect him again.

And now here he was, on his way to another most-likely formidable woman because of a few scratches. _Way to go, genius. Next time, if you've just been jacked up by an angry ghost,_ do not _stay at Uncle Lance's._

Another ten minutes later and Lance turned into a small carpark, pulling up the parking brake and turning the engine off. He frowned at Arthur and the mechanic opened the door, jumped down from the truck and shut it with a clatter behind him.

Arthur walked up to the large glass door, shoulders hunched and fuming. Why was his uncle like this? Ugh, next thing he knew he'd be locked up with the loons in some institution.

It took Arthur about thirty seconds to figure out that the door was a revolving one, and he was stuck in it for three full rotations until he finally stumbled out the other side, eyes growing wide and gasping at the sheer size of the waiting room.

It looked like the lobby to some really expensive hotel or phone company, not a local counselling office. The ceiling stretched high and the floor was blanketed in white carpet, soft-hued paintings and dim lights dotted along the walls to supposedly give off a calming effect – but the only impression Arthur got from the massive room was imposing.

There was a huge wooden desk straight ahead, and a smartly-dressed young lady sat behind it, talking into a black handset. She looked pretty annoyed about something, but receptionists in these types of places usually were.

Arthur approached the front desk and the lady held up a hand, motioning for him to wait. Arthur noted with disgust that while the woman waited for an answer on the line, her jaw worked up and down, making strange squelchy noises as it did. A moment later his suspicions were confirmed — the woman picked a clump of chewing gum from her mouth and flicked it into the mini bin on the desk. Arthur did not like chewing gum.

He huffed impatiently as the receptionist jabbered on, catching snippets of the conversation. Sounded more like she was having a heated argument with someone, not speaking calmly about network issues and the computer system.

Finally the woman dropped the receiver back into its holder and swung to Arthur, grinning at him with perfectly white teeth.

"What can I do for you, sir?" She smiled, tapping the desk with long painted fingernails.

"Uhh, my uncle Lance signed me up for a counselling session over the phone. I don't really need it, but—"

The receptionist held up a finger before turning to a computer, typing away on a white keyboard until comprehension lit her face. "Are you Artie? That old guy over the phone told me it looked like you were hurting yourself. I can just tell you where the room is if that makes you happy."

No, 'Artie' was not happy. He didn't want to be here in the first place, and this woman was wearing his patience thin. "Could you just tell the councillor I'm here please?"

"Okay, sure." The receptionist picked up the handset again and tapped a number on speed-dial, the other end giving three rings until someone picked it up.

"Hello? Yes, Artie's here to see you. Something about 'getting in over his head' or something. Yeah, that's him. Okay, will do."

Arthur ground his teeth in irritation, clenching his fists as he waited for the woman. These people all seemed the same _—_ smart outfits and good looks, but nothing inside other than a vague obedience and gossip.

The young receptionist dropped the phone back into its power socket and pointed with a lacquered fingernail at a nearby corridor. "If you go down there, it's the second door on the left."

"Okay, thanks." _For nothing,_ Arthur thought grumpily as he marched across the waiting room and into the corridor. Hopefully this would be really quick and he'd be out of here in no time, back at home with Vivi and Mystery.

 _Second door on the right. No, left._ Arthur turned through a door numbered "15", grumbling to himself, then stopped cold as he laid eyes on the sharp features of the councillor.

He blinked once, twice. No, it was her alright. Same short, platinum-blonde hair, same piercing blue eyes, same harsh angles and set jawline. It was the woman he went to see as a kid _—_ and she hadn't aged a bit.

"Ahh, Arthur," she smiled, white teeth flashing. "Hello again. Come sit down. I hear quite a lot's been happening since we last saw each other?"

Numbly, Arthur edged around the room, keeping a fair distance from the woman, and plopped into the same blue floral chair he had sat in almost fourteen years ago now.

"So, what's the problem this time?"

"Uhh, I'm p-pretty sure you know w-what it is this time." Stuttering! Arthur couldn't believe he was crumbling in front of this bat.

"Indeed." The councillor _—_ her name tag read "Ms Carver" _—_ scanned the file in front of her over the top of her half-rimmed glasses with wolfen eyes. "Well, I'll need your full name, age, date of birth and address please."

"Wait, you need my age _and_ my date of birth? And you just called me by my name." Arthur felt slightly more confident when Carver wasn't directly looking at him _—_ surely he could just fib about a few things and get _out of there._ Arthur had never really thought about it, but by this time he was quite sure he might have a fear of councillors, or people like Carver in general — the way they looked at him made him feel like they were some type of bird of prey, and he was a field mouse out in the open.

"Standard procedure." Carver's reply snapped him out of his train of thought, and he felt a wave of defiance rise up within him.

"Uh, fine. My name's Darcy and I'm sixteen, and I was born in. . ." Arthur's sentence died off as Carver turned her ice-cold eyes on him, feeling like he may melt away under the woman's drilling glare.

"What was that?"

"My name's Arthur James Kingsmen, I'm twenty-two and I was born on June the ninth, 1992," he mumbled, barely audible.

"Fascinating," Carver drawled, filling in the form. "Address?"

"Thirteen Quaver Avenue."

"Okay, very good. Now, let's focus on the topic at hand _—_ why are you here, Arthur?"

"My . . . uncle thinks I'm . . . uhh . . . self-harming."

"Oh. Why would he think that? Doesn't have anything to do with your activities of late, would it?"

Of course. The Mystery Skulls had been in the local newspaper more than once _—_ Ms C would have read about them.

"I heard your childhood friend died recently. How sad."

Arthur went rigid, staring down at his feet. The utter detachment in her voice was numbing _—_ Carver's tone was flat and completely devoid of emotion, and her stony expression hadn't changed.

Arthur looked up and found Carver was still staring at him _—_ she was expecting an answer. "Uhh, yeah." Well, that was pathetic.

"Do you miss him?"

Arthur looked up with a start. Hadn't been expecting that question from this particular individual. "Y. . .Yeah. I do." Arthur felt hot pricks behind his eyes and swiped an arm across his face angrily. He couldn't cry now!

"Well, that's good."

Wait, what was good? The fact that Lewis was dead, or that Arthur missed him? Neither really made much sense. But before Arthur could ask anything, Carver jumped to the next question.

"What happened to him?"

"W-What?"

"How did Lewis die?"

That was weird. Really weird. "Uhh, he . . . he fell. Lewis fell from a ledge. In a cave we went to investigate."

Carver leaned forward, eyes glinting. "Arthur, don't lie to yourself. We both know that's not true."

Arthur stiffened. Did she know?

"You _pushed_ Lewis that night. You _murdered_ your best friend."

Oh god, this couldn't be happening. Not again. Be he was _innocent_!

"Th-That's not true," Arthur faltered, feeling sweat bead on his forehead. "I d-didn't kill Lewis."

"Is that so?" Carver's eyes glinted again with harsh cruelty, and Arthur thought he saw them flicker to black. "But Arthur, I can _smell your guilt._ "

Whoaaa. This was weird. She could _smell_ his _guilt_? No, he must've heard wrong.

"You w-what?" Arthur asked weakly, not bothering to keep the stutter from his voice.

"I can smell your fear, Arthur," Carver droned, voice growing deeper. "I can see your sins written all over your _soul_. You're a murderer, Arthur Kingsmen. Is that even who you really are?"

Arthur felt like the room was growing smaller, closing in on him. He was breathing rapidly, and drops of perspiration dripped down his neck as he searched for an answer to that question. _Was_ he really Arthur? Or was he someone else altogether?

With a start Arthur realised that Carver was looming over him, eyes black. _"Arthur,"_ she hissed, malice lacing her voice. _"Are you ready, Arthur?"_

Arthur found he couldn't draw breath —something was squeezing his lungs. Carver's finger curled, clawlike, and Arthur doubled over in his chair, pain searing through his chest.

 _"Are you ready to see the other side?"_ Before Arthur's eyes, the woman's cruel features melted away, revealing what looked like to be swirling, black mist. The rest of her body dripped away and Arthur found himself trembling before a poisonous, spirit-shaped black cloud.

"You're a . . . ghoul," Arthur breathed, groaning as his chest tightened again.

What used to be Ms Carver cackled, the nauseating sound echoing around Arthur's head like a physical pain. _"We're_ all _ghouls, Arthur,"_ it purred, _"Every one of us. But you're here now — there's no one to tell. No one to save—"_ The cloud stopped, human features forming on its gaseous face. The ghoul frowned, turning its face to the door. _"Now what on earth—"_

The sound of splintering wood crackled through the room and the door fell inward, relieved of its hinges. Vivi stood in the doorway, legs apart and fists clenched defiantly at her sides. Mystery was standing beside her, keeping watch outside. Arthur barely had time to gasp before Vivi darted forward, snagging a hold of Arthur's vest and yanking him upright, pointing an arrow-shaped blue vial at the ghoul as she pulled Arthur towards the door.

"Don't move," Vivi gritted through clenched teeth, glaring directly as the spirit. "If you come near us, I'll upend the contents of this vial all over you."

The ghoul drifted forward, unconcerned. _"And what in the seventeen dimensions would you have in that bottle that could hurt_ me _? I'm sure holy water would burn like hell."_ The ghoul cackled madly, reaching out ten distinctive claws to grab at its prey.

" _Lonicera caprifoliaceae_ ," Vivi replied, and a triumphant grin spread across her face as the ghoul fell back, urked.

 _"H-How did you know?"_

"I do a _lot_ of reading. Arthur, you better get your butt out of here or soon you'll be ghoul food." She pushed Arthur outside and turned back to the murky spirit behind them, yanking out the cork of the vial. The ghoul winced noticeably as a loud _pop_ followed the cork's removal.

"You take one more . . . lunge, and you'll be coated with honeysuckle nectar. Now you stay in there and be a good ghost."

The ghoul didn't react for a moment but then it threw its head back, shrieking like a banshee. Vivi stepped out of the room and hustled Arthur down the corridor, Mystery at her heels.

"What's it doing?" Arthur called over his shoulder, twisting around to look down the corridor behind him. Vivi turned him back around and kept moving.

"It's alerting the others."

Soon there was wailing all around them and the raucous alarm chased them down the hall, violently shaking the walls. Chunks of plaster and wood rained down around them, dissipating as they hit the floor — or what was left of it, anyway.

"An illusion," Vivi observed grimly, breaking into a run as she reached the lobby. "All these years, and this place was never even real."

"What do you mean?" Arthur shouted over the rising howls, dodging a piece of falling ceiling. Apparently it wasn't even solid, but Arthur wasn't going to take any chances.

"I'll explain later," Vivi yelled, sprinting for the doors. "Just _get to the van!_ "

The gang barrelled into the revolving door and raced through it, piling into the van that was parked just outside. Well, Vivi and Mystery did. Arthur was still stuck in the stupid revolving door, trying to figure out which way it went. How did people even manage these things?!

"Arthur! Hurry up!" Vivi turned the key in the ignition, starting up the van.

"Wait! Don't leave without me!" Arthur yelped, finally stumbling out onto the tarmac. Vivi floored the pedal and the engine roared, deafening the humans. Arthur just managed to grab the side of the open window when the van took off, leaving the crumbling building and the shrieking ghouls behind.

Arthur's legs streamed out behind him and he flung out his left arm, making a wild grab for the window. Arms shaking with the effort, he heaved himself up to the window so he could peer inside. Vivi's eyes were locked on the road in front of her, but she still only just managed to avoid an elderly lady crossing the road. Arthur's flesh arm was turning numb from holding this position for so long, so he shouted out a quick few words before they were snatched away by the wind.

"Vivi! Slow down!"

"Not on your life!" Vivi answered, veering across into the other lane and running over a median strip in the process. "Do you have any idea how far a ghoul's calling range is?"

"Its _what_?"

"The distance it can control you from. You were being held in place before, right? Because I surprised the ghoul earlier, I broke its hold — but if it wanted to it could freeze you or me from here."

Arthur's body flew out sideways as the van turned again, legs snapping painfully against a pole. Arthur gasped at the sudden throbbing impact and flew over the top of two screaming teenagers. The van righted itself and using all of his strength Arthur yanked himself through the open window, now hanging like a discarded doll, half in and half out of the vehicle. Arthur groaned and pulled himself forward, slumping onto the seat when his feet made it through.

Arthur lay there, panting heavily, but another wild turn almost threw him into the dashboard and he sat up, tugging at Vivi's arm.

"Vee . . . Let me drive. You're terrible."

"It's not _my_ fault I never got a licence!"

"Vivi, please! We're all going to go flying through the windscreen if you keep this up."

Without another word, Vivi slipped out from behind the steering wheel and scrambled over Arthur, clicking herself into the passenger seat. Arthur slid across to occupy the driver's side, carefully easing the van back to the right side of the road.

"Thank gremlins it's all under control now," Vivi breathed, ignoring the fading screams behind them.

—

"WHAT? This is ridiculous." Arthur threw the newspaper down on the table, thrusting a finger at the front page. A huge, full-colour photograph filled almost half of the page, depicting an orange-clad figure swinging out from a van at arms length, mouth open and eyes wide in a silent scream.

"Ugh, Uncle Lance will kill me."

"Aww, it'll be okay, Artie." Vivi set a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'll talk to him for you. Surely he can't get mad at you for this . . . Oh, canker-blossoms." Vivi was now holding her buzzing phone, reading the screen. "Your uncle says: 'You better get yourself over here, James. We've got a lot to talk about.'"

Arthur groaned. "I _knew_ something like this would happen!"

"Hey Arthur." Vivi's serious tone prompted Arthur to sit up and listen. "We _do_ need to talk. About the councillors."

Arthur sucked in a breath. "Vivi, I swear I didn't—"

"No, not about that, ya duffer. About the ghouls."

"Oh."

"The thing is, I've been watching that place for a while now. It's creepy. I've talked to a few people who've been to see the so-called "therapists" there — the ones that made it out— and every time, they said they felt even worse coming out than they did coming in; almost like they felt that the people they had been assigned to were _intentionally_ plucking at their feelings, making them more prominent."

"But why—"

"Ghouls _feed_ off souls, Arthur. And remember what I told you? The more broken a soul is, the more power they gain from it. Souls may be like food to them, but weakened ones are like chocolate."

"You mean, they disguise themselves and break people down to take their life-source?" Arthur felt his throat go dry. "You mean they were _going_ to—"

"Yeah." Vivi pulled out the blue vial from her pocket and traced the inscription on the front. "But I noticed there was a common pattern that deterred them — if a victim ever managed to make a break for it, as soon as they reached a suburban garden the ghouls would give up the chase and return to the therapist's office."

"Honeysuckle."

"Yeah. I took samples of different garden flowers and ran a few tests — and I found that the nectar of the _lonicera caprifoliaceae_ had the strongest effect on spirits — it even made _me_ feel drained, and my soul is virtually shielded by a living, breathing vessel. I'm anchored to our dimension, and yet I still felt a weird kind of pull after downing honeysuckle."

"Wait, you _ate_ the stuff?"

"Yeah, what was I supposed to do? As I said, my soul's protected — and unbelievably, the closest bodily point to a person's spirit is the throat. That's why most spirits carry their living voice."

"Ohh." Arthur's eyes dropped to his feet. "I can't believe I came _that_ close — and just because of a few scratches."

"Mmm. I'll call Lance now and tell him about the whole thing." Vivi stood and turned her phone back on.

"No!" Arthur cried, lurching to his feet. Vivi took a surprised step back and Arthur sighed, shoulders slumping. "No, don't, please. Just . . . give it a bit more time. At the moment, I just need a little time away from him."

"Alright." Vivi unlocked her phone and typed a quick reply to Lance. After a couple of seconds she looked up. "Hey, Artie. . ."

"It's another ghost-bust, isn't it?"

"If you don't want to—"

"No, count me in. I'm kinda creeped out by . . . people in general, at the moment. I need to have something to do."

Even Mystery lifted his head up from the corner, he was so surprised by this statement.

"Artie," Vivi said, treading carefully, "Those councillors were technically ghosts, too. If not meaner and deadlier."

"I don't care. As I said, I just need to escape a little bit." Arthur stretched and turned to the counter, reaching up to the cupboard to retrieve his beloved coffee. "What's next on the schedule?"

Vivi once again checked her phone, tapping into the gang's Twitter and scrolling through the feeds. "Well . . . It's a little soon, but there's a haunting on tonight — there's this mansion on the edge of town, and people have been saying that it acts up every month on the twenty-sixth — which is today."

"Okay, tonight it is." Arthur set the kettle boiling and turned to Vivi, mustering a smile. "After today's escapade, what could go wrong?"

—

 **I'M SORRY I COULDN'T WRITE THIS WEEK**

 **MY VIEW OF THE COUNCILLOR AND OF THE DRAMATIC LOBBY IS COMPLETELY FICTIONAL. I'm sure a lot of councillors are helpful and reassuring, but the ones I have been to were actually so intense and demanding it was scary. Like no emotion whatsoever. Also it helped that I came up with the ghoul idea in the nick of time ;)  
Yeah, I know, so dramatic —** **the same councillor from Arthur's childhood. Quick, everybody run and hide! Give me a break, I had no idea and I'm so tired from school XD  
In case you haven't already figured, Arthur's headcanon middle name is "James", and also I have gotten some of the best insults from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare: "You spindled knot-grass made; You bead, you acorn."  
And hopefully I couldn't have possibly copied anyone because Lance's character is now based off my Nan — her personality, her way with nicknames, and the way she speaks; with a few exceptions, of course. Also we're from 'Straya so our "accents" allow a lot of room for abbreviation.  
Everyone buckle up for a wild ride. ****_HERE WE GOOO!_**


	8. Chapter 8: Stressed Out

Arthur drove on through the night, foot pressed flat on the floor of the van as it screeched around corners and left burn marks in its wake. He needed to get away. Far away. He couldn't let that ghost come near him and Vivi.

As soon as that signature pompadour had appeared, Arthur knew who the ghost was. There was no doubting it — it all added up. The care for Vivi, the unkempt rage towards Arthur, and the magenta fire . . . _Magenta fire._

Arthur had almost gone over the edge then. But he hadn't. He set his mind on finding Vivi and Mystery — and getting them out of there. And now here he was, hands gripping the wheel with the knuckles on his right white, and on the ones on his left creaking.

Arthur felt his eyes prickling and sniffed back his grief, taking a deep breath and focussing on the road. He needed to keep it together — for Mystery and for Vivi. But the awful truth kept nagging at the back of Arthur's mind— _It_ was _your fault._

Lewis was mad at him. He _hated_ him. And Arthur knew why. _You killed Lewis. You killed your best friend. It was_ your FAULT. _And all this time you've been hiding it — and denying the truth. How could you? He trusted you._ Arthur's cheeks burned red as he tried to hold back his tears. _Don't cry. Why are you crying? You should be ashamed. You_ killed _Lewis_. _And you know why —_ _you liked Vivi. You just couldn't hold onto_ —

Arthur lost his nerve and mashed the brake, swerving off to the side of the road and pulling the van up. He bit his lip. He had no idea he could be so cruel. He had never thought of the effects his own mind could have on him — but that still didn't change the truth.

No. Hold it together for Vivi. Hold it together. Get your mind back on the job.

It was at that precise moment a stream of brown leaves blew across the front of the car and spiralled in front of the windscreen, twirling and dancing and forming letters. No, a word. One word. And the leaves said—

 _Murderer._

And then they all burst into flame, disintegrating into ash in a matter of seconds.

Arthur started shaking, silent tears streaming down his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Arthur?"

Arthur closed his eyes and dropped his head to the steering wheel. The sharp joints of his prosthetic cut into his forehead, but he didn't care. He probably deserved the pain.

"Arthur! What on earth is wrong?!"

Arthur took a shaky breath to reply to Vivi. "I-I . . . That ghost — I k-k-killed. . ." Again he lost it, crying his eyes out in the darkness and security of the van. "I KILLED HIM, VIVI! I-IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Arthur's voice dropped off suddenly, his brain no longer supplying the words. He sat there sobbing as Vivi unclipped her seatbelt and climbed over to him, wrapping her arms around him. Arthur's tears soaked Vivi's sweater as he cried into her shoulder.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

After some persuasion from Vivi, Arthur swapped places with her so she could drive them home. Now they were all sitting at the kitchen bench, Arthur with his hands wrapped around a coffee mug, Vivi sipping a hot cocoa, and Mystery on the floor lapping up some milk.

"Well, now the ghost has a name," Vivi mumbled, and winced as she took in Arthur's glum expression. "Aw, Artie, I didn't mean it like that." She reached across and squeezed his knee. "But at least we know who it is now. So, do you know anyone who might know more about 'Lewis'?"

Arthur gaped at her.

Vivi frowned, retracting her hand to grip her mug. "Don't give me that look, Artie."

Arthur couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. "B-But — Vivi!"

"What?"

"Lewis is — _was_ — your boyfriend!"

"Don't be silly, Arthur. I've never known a Lewis in my life. What game are you playing at?"

Arthur's eyes bulged. She really had forgotten. "Are you . . . sure?" he peeped.

Vivi opened her mouth to respond in irritation, before her expression changed and she closed it again. Arthur wasn't joking, was he?

"I . . . think so." Now Vivi's voice was shaky. What was going on?

Arthur's mouth hung open in shock before he felt his eyes burn again and swiped his arm angrily across his face. Vivi had forgotten the _love of her life_? How could you know and be so close to someone for _seven years_ and completely forget about them? Vivi hadn't sustained any injuries that night, Arthur recalled. But had the trauma taken its toll? No, that wasn't right. She had mentioned him only last week. This was impossible . . . Unless it was all linked and it really was. . .

"My fault," Arthur croaked, watching his coffee ripple as the hand holding the mug trembled.

"Arthur, don't be ridiculous," Vivi scoffed. "How could it be your fault? If I seem to remember — excuse the pun — _I_ was the one who forgot. It's not like you've poisoned me or anything."

"You don't understand—"

"Arthur. For the last time, stop worrying! We'll figure something out. I mean it's not like I'm dead or anything, right? We can still fix—"

A single drop splashed onto the tiles in front of her and she looked up at Arthur, eyes red-rimmed and wet.

"But. . ." her eyes widened. "You didn't _actually_ . . . I mean of course not. I know you, Arthur — you couldn't — you _wouldn't_. . ."

She heard soft sniffles and stopped. Arthur was visibly shaking now, face twisting in grief and terror. "I-I . . . His voice— it was like . . . but his _face_ . . . Vivi, he looked so betrayed. B-But I would never . . . You know that, right? He was my best friend a-and . . . he l-looked so . . . oh g-god. . ." Tears were spilling down his cheeks now, his breathing shallow and ragged. He gave up trying to keep hold on the mug and let it crash to the floor, curling in on himself and watching the brown drink crawl across beige tiles.

"H-He thinks— he thinks _I_ killed him, and he . . . if he hadn't of stopped, you . . . You shouldn't have jumped in front of me! You should have just l-let him . . . let him. . ." his voice faded away into a whisper. "Kill me."

"Don't you . . . Don't you dare say that." Arthur raised his eyes to Vivi, face hardened and blue eyes inflamed. "Don't you _dare_ ," she spat, "blame this on yourself. I don't remember anything about this Lewis but . . . but he seems really special to you. I know you could never do anything to hurt anyone, Arthur. I _know_ you. I don't know what's happening or why my memory's gone but even if you _did_ kill Lewis—" Arthur winced at this— "how could you be linked to this? Arthur, you're an idiot."

Arthur shook his head and hugged his knees tighter, trying to stop shaking.

"Listen." Vivi was right in front of him now, clasping his shoulder with claw-like hands. "You're an idiot. But you're a big soft idiot and you could _never_ hurt _anyone_. Remember in school when you couldn't stand up for yourself, even when they hurt you? It's not because you were weak — you were just too afraid to hurt anyone else. You're still that same person. Just . . . changed." She brushed his robotic arm. "But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," she whispered. "And if that's true, you, Mister, are one of the strongest people I know."

She hugged him tight. Arthur relaxed in her arms, sniffling against her shoulder. They sat there for a long time, just thinking. Finally Vivi drew breath to break the silence.

"You know, it's okay to be a glowstick," she said softly, squeezing Arthur tighter.

"A glowstick?"

"Sometimes we have to break before we shine," Vivi smiled.

Arthur made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob and buried his face in her sweater to muffle the strange sound.

"Let's go out for a bit," Vivi said, rubbing her friend's back. "Might take our mind off some things. Then we can go looking for some information, okay?"

Arthur nodded against her shoulder and Vivi clicked her tongue, calling Mystery over. With a small smile, Arthur scratched the dog behind the ears and he whined in pleasure. "That's better," Arthur sighed, shooting Vivi a grateful look. She nodded in response before standing up and pulling her best friend to his feet beside her.

The gang made their way outside and started walking to the van like ordinary neighbours, Mystery's tail wagging, despite their earlier spat. Arthur's red-rimmed eyes had suddenly cleared up, Vivi's hard gaze had softened, and to any passersby, they would have almost looked like normal people. Which, of course, they were not.

By the time the three friends arrived in town, they were all lost in their own thoughts. They walked down the street and ended up bypassing the coffee shop entirely, instead disappearing down Chiptune Lane and ascending the stairs to the Tempo Public Library.

As soon as Arthur stepped into the quiet space, he felt a wave of calm wash through him. He could hear Vivi breathe a sigh of relief next to him, and Mystery whuff gently as he situated himself at the top of the stairs, knowing full well he wasn't allowed in the library. Arthur turned and shot Mystery a sympathetic glance, but Mystery just gave him a doggy smile and jerked his head towards the door. The blonde gratefully continued on, weaving through high bookshelves, breathing in the musty smell of ancient pages until he reached the small round table at the far end — his usual reading spot. Vivi followed behind, snatching up a few books on the way.

Vivi plonked the books down on the table which was followed by a hollow _boom_ that echoed around the room. Arthur cringed inwardly as half a dozen people lifted their heads to stare at the noisy newcomers.

"Okay," Vivi murmured, now seemingly more aware of the quiet atmosphere. "I've got a couple of books. Arthur, you read _Common Supernatural Phenomenons_ and I'll read . . . hey, are you even listening?"

He wasn't. Arthur was staring out the window behind Vivi, now pattered with rain, at the misty buildings below. His eyes were glassy in thought and his breathing was deep and rhythmic, as if he were sleeping.

"Arthur?" Vivi's voice broke Arthur from his trance and he looked over at her, holding out a blue-covered book to him.

"Oh . . . what about coffee?" he asked distractedly.

Vivi dramatically face-palmed. "Ugh, I'm sorry. We could go there now, I guess, and read later. If you want."

"Nah . . . it's okay." Arthur gave a small lopsided smile and took the tome, flipping through it. "So what are we looking for, exactly?"

"Information."

Arthur looked up at Vivi, already immersed in her find. "Uhh, okay." He bit his lip in thought. For some reason, the library was starting to seem more eerie than calming and Arthur was getting jumpy as he listened to the creaking of wood and fluttering of pages. "Do you think maybe I could go home, research stuff on my computer? I've recently uploaded a tracker on there — might prove useful in finding our ghost. You can stay here and read up on stuff."

"Okay . . . sure." Vivi didn't really sound like she was listening, but Arthur took her response as a dismissal and stood, tiptoeing his way back to the entrance and to Mystery, waiting patiently at the top of the staircase.

"Come on, Mystery. Vivi's reading — she said we could go home and do some research there. How's that sound?"

The dog frowned, craning his head to see through the glass doors."Is she okay?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth, careful to avoid attracting attention. "Are you sure you want to leave?"

"Yeah." The hairs on the back of Arthur's neck prickled and he stepped away from the doors, hurriedly ushering Mystery away. It felt good to be back to his usual alert self, but at the same time Arthur wished he was still back at home, grieving over Lewis. At least that way he wouldn't be fretting over his insecure friends' fate. "She'll . . . she'll be fine," he forced himself say. "We can call if we get worried."

Mystery shot him a look but followed, pattering down the steps and into the bustling arcade laneway below. A few kids stopped to ask Arthur permission to pat his dog, and Mystery could see him getting more and more impatient with every delay. Something was going on. But what?

By the time they walked back home (Arthur had left the van back at the library for Vivi) and settled in the loungeroom, Arthur was already flinging his laptop open and typing, fingers a blur over the keyboard. Mystery sighed, feeling he couldn't really do much in this situation, so he pattered across the room and settled on his second bed by the entry to the corridor, eyes on Arthur.

A few minutes later, Arthur crossed his fingers, eyes on the computer screen. The results were loading — in a few minutes he'd know where Lewis was! He knew his best friend would understand — things could go back to the way they used to be. Tension slipping away, he leaned back in his chair, willing the bar onscreen to fill to 100%.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

Back in the library, Vivi had just reached a chapter on possession, when a thought popped into her mind. _Arthur said he killed Lewis._ But she knew he'd never be able to hurt anyone. Not intentionally. She looked back down at the book opened in front of her.

 _Possessions occur when a ghost feels they have important business to correct, and needs a vessel to carry out their actions. Usually a ghost would need permission from the being they wish to possess, but there are certain stronger specters that can gain access through mere emotions. . . ._

Vivi's eyes flared wide and she snapped the book shut. That would explain everything. Abruptly she stood, scraping her chair back, and stalked out of the library. There were a few things that needed to be established.

 _—_ _—_ _—_

 **Side note: Arthur is losing it a little. He's tired and scared, and he just wants to find his best friend. He's kind of forgotten what has happened, and really, he's hoping that he can fix this. Poor little baby :(**


	9. Chapter 9: Turning The Handle

**WARNING: Explicit language ahead.**

The sound of a rumbling engine pulled up outside and was promptly cut, followed by a slammed door, the flash of headlights through the window and stomping footsteps up the hall. Arthur looked up from his laptop as Vivi stormed into the room. Her eyes flicked around wildly before settling on Arthur, and she pursed her lips, eye twitching.

Arthur could feel the heat emanating from her from where he sat, and he knew what was coming next. _Uh oh._

Vivi's cheeks ballooned red. "That's it. I've had it up to here, Arthur!" She stamped her foot and raised her voice. "WHY CAN'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING? DON'T YOU TRUST ME? OH OF COURSE, I'LL GO SHOUTING IT ALL OVER THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AND PUTTING IT IN _THE NEWSLETTER_!"

Arthur shrank against his seat. "You're shouting right n-now. . ."

Vivi cut him off, waving her arms about. "I DON'T GIVE A _DAMN_! HERE YOU ARE, LOSING SLEEP OVER A GHOST AND WELLING UP WHENEVER I ASK YOU ABOUT IT, LIKE IT'S YOUR FAULT OR SOMETHING— AND THERE YOU GO AGAIN!"

Arthur turned away, flinching as he heard Vivi stomp up to him.

"Don't you _dare_ look away!" Arthur sheepishly looked up at his furious friend, staring him down. "You've got me worried _sick_! Do you have any idea how much you impact us with your lethargic charade? It's not all about you! This is a _joint_ effort but by golly, no one would think it because you're all up on your high horses and you can't even _talk_ to me!" She spun around to Mystery. "And _you_."

She flung a finger at the dog and marched towards him, stopping in the centre of the room. "I don't know what's up with you but there's something weird going on!" she yelled. "In fact, call me crazy, but I _know_ you're smarter than what you look like and it's seriously freaking me out! There's something huge going on and we can't even shed some light on the situation? Unless _I_ go off in private and gather information! Like certain _possessive_ circumstances," she spat, shooting a searing glare at Arthur, who swallowed nervously. "Now that's not us! Somehow this is all linked, I know it. If I figure it out, it'll tell me why you don't talk and why you're—" she swung around to face Arthur. "—acting strange!"

"Vivi, please. . ." Arthur quaked, still huddled on the chair.

"NO! Shut up!" Vivi snapped. "I've seriously had it up to here with you guys! One of you needs to tell me _right now_ what on earth is going on—"

She never finished her sentence because at that moment Vivi's eyes flickered shut and she toppled forward, her unfinished sentence hanging in the still air like viscous fog. Just as Vivi would have hit the floor Arthur vaulted out of his chair, darted forward and caught her, easing her gently onto the carpet until her torso alone was cradled in his arms.

Arthur's breath misted over her pale face and Vivi opened her eyes with a soft gasp.

"Arthur?" she breathed, gazing up at him through heavy lids. He held his breath, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm . . . cold," she murmured.

For the second time in as many nights, Arthur picked his friend up and carried her to her room. He kept glancing at her, waiting for her to snap at him or give a snide comment, but it seemed her mood was gone. By the time he reached her room (which was only a few seconds away) Vivi's head was lolling on her shoulders and her breathing was deep and even. Arthur carefully laid her on the queen bed, slipping off her shoes, unwrapping her scarf and carefully removing her jumper, glasses and headband before settling her head on a blue pillow and pulling up the lilac sheets. She murmured something and rolled over and Arthur, unwilling to wake her, tiptoed out of the room and quietly shut the door.

 _Maybe a walk would help,_ he thought, heading to the kitchen and grabbing the house keys. _Some fresh air might clear my head a bit. And then I can think._ He crossed into the living room to call for Mystery, but he was nowhere to be found. Arthur scanned the room one last time and shrugged, turning on his heel and heading down the corridor. Just as he reached the white front door and lifted a hand to turn the handle, he felt something smack against his leg and almost shrieked. Looking down, he found it had been Mystery's tail.

"Don't _do_ that," Arthur muttered, opening the door. "You scared me."

The dog looked out at the empty street before answering. "I'm sorry. I came to check on Vivi." His gaze dropped and he stared at his paws. "I'm just as worried about her as you are."

Arthur sighed. "Of course you are." He stepped aside to let Mystery through and the dog pattered past, glasses glinting in the dim light of the setting sun. As soon as he was outside, Arthur shut and locked the door behind him, slipping the house keys into his back pocket. He had forgotten all about the laptop he'd left behind on the chair, flashing with a dozen connections and a red dot crawling across the screen, heading for the suburbs.

—

 _Everything was black. She was floating in a dark void of nothingness, enveloped by a disturbing silence and unable to move. Her eyes flicked around wildly, searching for something to focus on, something to at least give her a sense of direction. There was nothing._

 _But wait. There_ was _something. A tiny pinpoint of light, straight ahead — at least, she_ thought _it was straight ahead — and she was being drawn slowly but surely towards it. Soon the light dimmed and a blue heart locket came into focus, beating strongly despite its large cracks. She reached out a hand (for she was now able to move again, and like most dreamers, she didn't dwell on the mysterious fact) and traced the fault lines on the heart, which was warm to the touch._

 _The heart nestled itself into her palm and Vivi gazed at it in wonder. It was so pretty, so fragile, and yet its steady, strong beat reminded her of something tougher. As she watched, a pink, dancing flame crept out of the locket, sputtering and bending as if battered by a gale — but as Vivi closed her eyes and stayed as still as she could, she could feel no breeze; not even the slightest hint of disturbance in the warm air. Her face grew hot and her eyes snapped open to be faced with a skull, inches from her face. Aching with familiarity, she watched as a fiery pompadour arranged itself on the skull, the dark eye sockets were lit by flaming irises, and a face started to come into focus—_

 _And then the face was consumed with fire, fire that funnelled down like a miniature cyclone, twisting like a fish's tail, and then the fire extinguished and someone was left in front of her — someone with a kind face, spiky blonde hair and striking amber eyes._

 _She reached out for the stranger but his face contorted, twisting into a cruel snarl which grew sharp, pointed teeth; the figure's skin coloured with a sickly green, his hair shot through with white; and last of all, the whites of his eyes darkened to black and his irises sharpened into toxic green, knife-edged disks._

 _Vivi lurched back in horror as he reached out with crooked fingers, catching the edge of her scarf in his hand. He yanked on it cruelly and she choked, gazing pleadingly into his sharp, cold eyes._

 _"You don't want to end up like_ him _," the stranger hissed, turning to the left. Vivi's eyes followed his intense gaze and she shrank back from a purple figure suspended in mid-air, a look of absolute horror and betrayal on his face. She jerked back to the blonde stranger for an explanation — but there was none to be given._

 _With a sick grin, the stranger let go of her, leaving Vivi to plunge into the black void beneath her, screaming out a name._

—

"So, talking again?"

Mystery stared pointedly at Arthur and he gave a weak smile. "Guess it has been weird over the last few days."

Mystery shook his head. "Something's going on. Something big. I don't like this, Arthur."

"What do you think is happening?"

The dog grimaced. "I'm not sure."

He cut off abruptly as they walked past the town's truckie, Rooster, who was kneeling on the footpath, struggling with a branch caught in the front wheel. The man looked up as the two walked past. "E-Evening."

Arthur smiled kindly and gave a small wave. "Hey."

"What are you d-d-doing out this ti-ime of night?"

"Just taking a walk."

"Oh. That's not very exciting."

Arthur stopped and turned, shooting Rooster a strange look. "What do you mean?"

"You Mystery Skulls people are a-a-always going out and doing stuff. Nothing planned?"

"No."

"I wish I had an exciting life like yours," Rooster continued wistfully, gesturing at his truck. "Aa-Aall I do is drive a truck around all day. Nnn. . .Nnn. . ." he cleared his throat awkwardly. "It isn't that fun."

"Well maybe you could come along with us one day," Arthur smiled.

The truckie gave a start — he obviously wasn't used to being asked out. "I . . . can?" At the taller man's nod, Rooster gave a good-natured smile. "Th. . .Thanks, Arthur. You're a rr-rr-rreal pal."

"Don't mention it. We — I can ask Vivi when we get home." At that Arthur's smile wavered. Vivi — she wasn't in a good way.

Something scratched at his leg and Arthur looked down — Mystery was pawing at him, shaking his head. Obviously he had caught onto Arthur's train of thought and didn't approve. Arthur sighed. He guessed Vivi should be fine at home — what could go wrong?

"I guess I'll ss-see you guys around, then-n?"

Arthur cupped his face with a metal hand to bring himself back to reality. "Y-Yeah. See ya."

—

 _This time she was walking in a garden of creeping vines, following the strains of song floating to meet her._

"Stitched you up, put you together  
With cotton and feather.  
Gave you love, put my heart inside you. . ."

 _Where was it coming from? The voice seemed to be singing a melody, but there were only echoes where the tune should be. Purple roses struggled to grow on the vines around her, but couldn't sustain life and shrivelled up into brown crumples of petal. In their place grew dazzling white lilies, blooming and stretching out to the world around them, overshadowing the dark thorns sprouting along the vines below them. She shivered and pressed on through the living garden._

". . . I'm in despair;  
Should I be scared?

Teddy bear, you were my teddy bear  
You were comforting and quiet How did love become so violent?  
Oh, teddy bear, you were my teddy bear  
Everything was so sweet . . . until you tried to kill me."

 _Up ahead she could see a large figure floating in a fetal position, oblivious to the darkness and intermingled life around them. She approached the figure, sure the song was coming from them. It was only now that the voice was slipping into lower registers, filling out and becoming more masculine — yes. Certainly the voice was coming from this person._

"I'm so unprepared. . .  
I'm fucking scared. . ."

 _The voice broke on the last word, dissolving into sobs, but the song continued on regardless. She carefully approached the trembling figure, reaching out—_

 _With a metal hand._

 _The figure let go of their knees and stretched out into a standing position, shying away from her touch. Two large, frightened, red-rimmed eyes gazed down at her from underneath an overhanging purple fringe._

 _The person let out a strangled sound and lurched forward, jerking back just as they would have embraced her. Their eyes flickered with happiness and then they bit their lip in a grimace — obviously they were unsure how to react to her; should they be happy to have found her or frightened of her?_

 _It was only just now she realised the uncertain amethyst eyes gazing down at her were a boy's. Why had she only realised this just now? The purple boy's eyes filled with tears and they spilled down his face, dripping to the ground beneath him. He opened his mouth to say something, but then gave a choked cry as his eyes locked onto her hand._

 _She felt that same hand tingle and looked down in surprise at the glinting metal, which was melting down into skin. The yellow of her clothes dripped away to reveal blue — lots of blue. The stranger in front of her gasped in surprise and as she looked up at him his lips curved up in a dazzling smile. She felt her heart flutter as he drifted lower, reaching inside his vest for something. He pulled out a cyan forget-me-not and held it out in an offering, eyes sparkling._

 _Feeling her face heat up, she reached out to take the flower—_

 _And it burst into flame, the fire leaping forward to consume her as the purple boy's face transformed. The last thing she saw before the world once again went dark was two glaring purple eyes, the eyes that once held so much love. . ._

"I'm fucking scared. . ."

—

It had been an hour, and due to Arthur's incessant worrying he and Mystery were hustling back for home. The former felt cold sweat drip down his back as he hastened down the path, eyes on the white house up ahead, breathing rapidly. He couldn't explain what he was feeling — it was almost like dread was eating into his stomach, prompting the worry that was rising, drowning him in fear. Something was most definitely wrong and his instincts hadn't let him down yet.

As they walked, Mystery caught sight of a silhouette slinking down the other side of the street, keeping to the shadows. The fur on his hackles raised and his lips pulled back in a snarl, but Arthur didn't seem to notice due to his apparent fervour to get home. A faint tintinnabulation could be heard across the street as the figure skulked through the dark, and Mystery was just about to step onto the road when the figure entered a streetlight beam—

It was Duet.

Mystery sighed, relaxing. Duet was harmless. But, on the other hand . . . what was he doing sneaking around at night? What was he so afraid of?

"Mystery!"

Mystery turned. Arthur was calling him from the house, one hand on the doorknob. Mystery whiplashed back to Duet — but he was gone. With a sigh, he stepped back and made his way down the street to their house. It was probably nothing. What could Duet be doing at this time of night, anyway?

—

Lewis snapped back to reality, heart hammering. That was the third time in as many days! Why did he keep seeing her? Why did he keep confusing her with . . . him? Lewis shuddered and shook his head. There must be some mistake.

He looked around himself at the dark night, tainted with the magenta of his fire. How could a ghost feel so fatigued? So weak? He had been looking for so long — but for some reason had completely overlooked his own home town.

Lewis thought of Vivi back at home, sitting with his murderer, completely unsuspecting. He felt his heart ache and lifted a hand to touch it. _Vivi. . ._

He needed to find her — and soon. Otherwise Arthur would fill her head with his lies, and he would turn her against him. _Perhaps she's forgetting him already,_ Lewis thought hopefully. _Maybe the spell's working faster than I thought it might._

He waited to feel some kind of thrill or satisfaction, some sort of confirmation that he was doing the right thing, but all he felt was a cold hollowness. He shouldn't have to do this to her. He shouldn't have to sacrifice so much for love.

At this internal dialogue Lewis felt a pang. He had loved Arthur. And where had that led? _Stabbed in the back. Killed by my best friend. I lost everything._ But maybe something could be salvaged from this mess. Perhaps once he got rid of his tormentor, things could go back to the way they used to be.

He just needed the will to try.

—

As soon as Arthur opened the front door, dread overwhelmed him like the guilt in his dreams. There was a crash from Vivi's door and he ran forward, tripping over his own feet, reaching out in seemingly slow-motion to turn the knob and push it open.

Vivi was sitting in the centre of the bed, staring with wild eyes at the overturned bedside drawer on the carpet. So that was the source of the noise. Arthur slowly raised his eyes to Vivi, who was breathing heavily, mussed blue hair hanging down over her face. She saw him and gasped, face draining of remaining colour.

"Where's the purple boy?" she whispered, hands trembling.

Arthur felt a stab. _Please, not again._ "Vivi—"

"Where is he?" she repeated, voice rising in panic. "I need to know where he is! He was pushed, p-pushed — he doesn't like yellow. He— yellow! No yellow!" she squirmed back across the sheets. "N-No! He'll burn me! Yellow makes his fire burn . . . makes the flowers die. . ."

"Vee?" Arthur's chest tightened as he took small, hiccupping breaths.

"NO!" The girl shrieked, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth. "Th-There's purple everywhere . . . he's so scared there's too much yellow — yellow makes fire, burning like his hate love love is blue there's only black falling FALLING no one to trust, forget everything. Forget you. Forget me—"

"Vivi!" Arthur lurched forward and dove to the bed, grabbing her chin in cold metal fingers and angling her face to meet his. As he looked deep into her eyes, he could see the fear. Fear that speared deep, fear that mirrored a look of betrayal he once saw . . . and suddenly, he understood. "What did he do to you?" he whispered, face a mask of sorrow.

With that, Vivi collapsed into sobs and buried her face in his chest. Arthur wrapped his arms around her shaking form and rested his chin on her head, closing his eyes. They stayed like that for some time, Vivi's tears soaking the front of Arthur's shirt as Mystery watched on in ferment.

"I'm sorry," Arthur finally murmured. Vivi's sniffles stopped and she lifted her head to look at him, confused.

"I-I mean, I should have protected you. I should have been more careful. . ."

"Arthur?" Arthur stiffened and met his friend's eyes, unsure what to expect. She studied him for a second before her face broke into a relieved smile. "Arthur!" She vaulted to her knees and flung her arms around him. "Why didn't you come? I've been so scared!"

Arthur was unclear on how to react to this. "I . . . You were? I didn't?"

"No, silly." Vivi sat back and grabbed his hand. "Don't do that to me! Next time come when I call, you hear me?"

All Arthur could do was nod in surprise as Vivi wrapped her arms around him again. He shot Mystery a loaded look over the top of her head and shook his own.

 _What on earth is happening? Why us? Why her?_

—

 _It's all my fault, he's gone. He's dead. I did it. I let it loose! What's he gonna think of me? He'll never forgive me. She, she won't either. They must be missing him so much! Oh god, why did I have to do this? I shouldn't have let my jealousy get the better of me! Me, am I even me? Am I something else?_

 _I'm sorry . . . Please bring him back. Please sorry forgive me please. . ._

 _All my fault. . ._

 **—**

 **WHOA this chapter was WEIRD, I apologise. But the VIBES. I'm definitely feeling them! Are you?**  
 **If any of you have read "Pretties" by John Westerfield, remember how Zane's pill was eating away at his brain? This spell's kinda doing the same thing to Vivi (I'm so sorry) but with her memories instead (still sorry). And short-term memory is kinda one of the weakest points. There's also a pattern with how she acts and trust me it all links up.**  
 **Trust me, dudes, everything in the dreams mean something. The connections, the vagueness, even the flower (and thorn) symbolism.**

 **Let's just say magic always takes its toll. . .**

 **Chapter title excerpted from "Crybaby" by Melanie Martinez.**  
 **The lyrics from Vivi's dream come from "Teddy Bear" by Melanie Martinez.**


	10. HIATUS

I just wanted this chance to say . . . _WELCOME TO HIATUS!_

 **WAY** too excited for Hellbent to just go on with life at the moment.

IN THE MEANTIME, BECAUSE I AM WONDERFUL-

post/158532554849/chantillyxlacey-goldenunicornmaster-a-sneak

HAVE THIS PREVIEW OF HELLBENT! _NOT EVEN JOKING._ THIS IS LEGIT AND I SCREAMED THE HARDEST I HAVE EVER SCREAMED IN MY LIFE AND I SWEAR I HAVE BROKEN MY THROAT!

Because I DEFINITELY don't want you guys to miss out on this, if you can't copy the link from this chapter go to "thepurpah" on Tumblr and scroll down til you see the video!

 **I HAVE REASONS TO LIVE. LOOK AT ARTHUR!**

OKAY F*CK SHIROMORI, F*CK VIVI, I JUST WANT ARTHUR AND LEWSI RIGHT NOW. I WANT THEIR CONFLICT. STUFF THAT, I NEED IT! **_YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!_**

*runs away, jittering with excitement*

 _*muffled screams of elation and pure insanity in the distance*_


	11. Cryptic Fun (NOT part of the story)

_A to the one, to the one, to the A_

 _Three steps back,_

 _One step forward._

 _BLOCKED is the key._

 _Dots and dashes, lines and slashes_

 **—**

20-8-5 23-1-25 9-19 19-20-9-12-12 2-12-15-3-11-5-4, 2-21-20 14-5-1-18-9-14-7 20-8-5 5-14-4—

20-15 23-8-1-20 12-9-5-19 1-8-5-1-4, 21-14-1-2-12-5 20-15 3-15-13-16-18-5-8-5-14-4.

 **—**

Xmlildfbp colj qeb Xrqelo,

Xka Qexkhp tfqelrq Bka.

 **—**

Ubmft pg usvui boe ubmft pg mjft,

Xifo pof jt po Cmpdl, ipx ujnf epft gmz.

 **—**

Etgtokdso tkvphs lbf nmvdwokwiujyu pyxht,

J esnv crv, xm hbmhoog, vri hoo wu xmji.

 **—**

 _Or at least in sight. . ._

 **—**

 **I can be mysterious too! But I'm not that good. (And what's with the weirdo proper, high status feel?) For that, see HeCallsMeHisChild. Enjoy! :)**

 **Also I apologise, I'm not sure I'm doing that great a job with this book, and I've had a LOT of mental things going on these past few months, and I've been doing a lot of second-guessing and doubting. But I've gotten a few amazing comments on this book and whenever my friends proofread they come back all like, "FBDJFNN", so I'm probably doing okay XD Don't give up on me guys, not yet. I mean, please? SorryI'msuchanawfulupdater**


	12. Final Announcement to Readers and SeaRoc

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="07cc700640f09f9e1789714f587c9147"Dear a style="box-sizing: border-box; background: 0px 0px; color: #dd7201;" href=" user/SeaRoc"SeaRoc/a ,/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="09f859a93a6cb63ef920c7ebdd2af25d" Thank you for our time together. And thank you for teaching me to feel despair. Now I can write at ease, and feel sure the emotions I write about are valid, and I have you to thank for that. I know we're not on very good terms, and I sincerely apologise for the way I blew up at you so many times; I'm so stupidly temperamental, as you of all people must know by now. But I promise you, this is genuine, and I feel you deserve this dedication for how much you have opened my mind. I couldn't feel and know what I do today without you./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="34c9884c6458c921591d25ac576f7eb8" I understand if you take this as a mockery, or some strange desperate attempt at trying to get you back. But it's alright; you don't have to worry about. I've realised the situation can't be fixed from here. But I'm not here to fire anyone up, or to rekindle broken friendships, I'm just here to really, genuinely, thank you. You've developed my writing! You've inspired dozens of characters! You have set off storylines that I couldn't have possibly worked with before! My brain is going an a creative spree — all because of you. Thank you. I really mean it./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="325426316fde45d6c4bf321f50ba9a62" This dedication extends as much to your friend as it does to you — you know who I mean. I will respect you and your friend, and respect that you might not want to see this, but thank you. To both of you. You have changed my life — you have made me realise what's important and what I'm searching for. Thank you./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6569efa4f081eec646ab0462ecaec7c4" I hope you find what you're searching for, too. I will never forget either of you./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e22ae794c5e0018afeef190d6eddb86f" — "Laurmean"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e011d0625d3b5abec6e691e599da36bf"As for the rest of you readers! I am sorry to be saying this, but I am officially pronouncing this fanfiction as "finished". Well, obviously not completely finished, but don't expect anymore updates — for a long time at least. I'm quite unhappy with it as it is, and I may completely revamp and re-publish it in the future. But thank you so much for your support! I appreciate it more than you can imagine./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="252345a007cc1614581cfefe75b8affb" Many thanks,br style="box-sizing: border-box;" / From an officially "inactive" Fanfiction account,/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="df070cc5a9acd7865f43d31c2b635a93" SilverLining11./p 


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